Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Kingsport-based Auros Pharma, a start-up pharmaceutical company focused on revolutionizing the treatment of respiratory arrest caused by drug overdose, cardiac arrest, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation, captured the $10,000 top prize in the final event at the LSTCON Tuesday in Nashville.

The company, founded by Dr. Joseph Nounou, an anesthesiologist, has developed the ResPen that is based on doxapram, a short acting respiratory stimulant used to treat acute respiratory insufficiency in COPD patients. He expects to have a patent issued next year with clinical trials to follow shortly thereafter.

The “People’s Choice Award” and $1,000 went to Corami, a Memphis-based start-up that is revolutionizing heart disease by delivering therapeutics directly to the heart’s outer layers. As described by Ersa Roan, Corami’s platform taps into a unique space on the heart’s surface — the pericardial cavity — to deliver therapeutics. Using the PerCor™ system, therapeutics embedded in a proprietary controlled-release hydrogel, GelCor™, are placed within the pericardial cavity. This minimally invasive approach can reduce dosing and off-target toxicity — beneficial to any cardiac drug delivery, but essential to the clinical translation of cardiac gene therapy.

Holland & Knight LLP sponsors the “Venture Forum” as part of the annual conference of Life Science Tennessee. The “People’s Choice Award” was presented by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation.

The judges were:

• Patrick Clayton from J.P. Morgan in Houston;
• Joe Cook III from Mountain Group Partners;
• Josh Eckelberry with Sola BioVentures; and
• David Vulcano with Music City Angels.

The other competitors were two Nashville-based start-ups.

1. Empath Biosciences discovers and structurally engineers natural products to generate novel classes of drugs that serve as unique anti-cancer agents. Empath will focus its discovery and development efforts on: (1) diseases with high-unmet needs; (2) where current therapies are insufficient or non-existent; and (3) where patients are in desperate need of care. Empath seeks to develop therapies that provide patients with new alternatives to existing care, whether symptomatic relief or curative.
2. Infusense is a start-up that developed a biosensor technology for rapid, low-cost, and very accurate drug quantification. In its presentation on Tuesday, Eric Kriegstein, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, pitched Tetrasense, a cannabinoid potency testing device that will be offered for sale in the next month. .

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