Yonkers biotech licenses enzyme for staph treatment
Contrafect Corp., the Yonkers-based biotechnology company, has licensed from an academic research partner a bacteria-killing enzyme that Contrafect will use to develop a new drug treatment for deadly staphylococcus infections.
Contrafect officers said the company has licensed from The Rockefeller University in Manhattan the latest and most potent lysin enzyme discovered to date. Lysins are enzymes that dissolve and kill tens of millions of bacteria in seconds without the side effects and drug resistance that are common with antibiotics.
Dr. Robert Nowinski, Contrafect”™s CEO and chairman, said the licensed product, called CF-301, adds depth to his company”™s clinical program and pipeline. It is the second lysin the company is developing to treat drug-resistant staph infections. It was discovered in Rockefeller labs by Dr. Vincent Fischetti, the first scientist to produce a recombinant lysin for therapeutic and preventive use.
Barry Kappel, Contrafect vice president of business development, said the company will push CF-301 to the front of its drug development pipeline and expects to submit an investigational new drug application for the product to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the second quarter of 2012. “Its potent activity against all forms of staph infections, including methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-resistant strains, makes this molecule of extreme importance, not only to Contrafect but worldwide as well,” he said in a press release.
Co-founded in 2008 by Nowinski, an immunologist and long-successful biotech entrepreneur, Contrafect this year moved into 15,000 square feet of office and laboratory space at 28 Wells Ave. in the i.park Hudson complex in downtown Yonkers.
New Rochelle anesthesiologist recognized
Dr. Marc Koch, president and CEO of Somnia Anesthesia Services in New Rochelle, has been named one of the top 150 physician executives in the ambulatory services industry by Becker”™s ASC Review, a business publication focused on ambulatory surgery centers. Koch has been honored every year since the list”™s inception in 2008.
A Yale University-trained anesthesiologist, Koch also holds a master”™s degree in business administration from Fordham University. He is a widely published author and frequent speaker on topics related to anesthesia, anesthesia management and patient safety.
Founded in 1996, Somnia Anesthesia is owned and operated by physicians. It provides a range of clinical and administrative services to hospitals, surgery centers and office-based surgical facilities.
