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July 2010
 

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CURE's Annual Meeting and BioHaven Series Showcase Connecticut Biopharma
Yale Cell Biology Researcher Wins $1 Million Prize
Healthcare Reform Focus of CURE Annual Meeting
Ion Torrent & 4 Biotechs Draw Venture Capital
JS Genetics Presents at CURE/Yale BioHaven Series
Amarin Corporation Focus of CURE/Yale BioHaven Presentation
Jonathan Rothberg Presents at CURE Yale BioHaven
CT Stem Cell Research Roundup
CURE Member News Digest

JS Genetics Presents at  CURE/Yale BioHaven Series
 


Tracy Huang of Yale


Dr. Jeff Gruen of Yale


Alidad Mireskandari of JS Genetics


Networking afterwards

    

 Continuing the 2009-2010 CURE/Yale BioHaven Entrepreneurship seminar series was a presentation May 12 by JS Genetics.

Introduced by Tracy Huang of Yale OCR, the speakers were Jeff Gruen, M.D., who is co-founder and chairman of the advisory board of JS Genetics, and Alidad Mireskandari, who is president and CEO of JS Genetics.

The company develops and markets sophisticated but highly cost-effective DNA diagnostic tests for underserved medical conditions in newborns, children, and adolescents.

This focus grew out of the recognition that most genetic tests require blood samples, have longer turn-around times, and are expensive.

The company's principal strategy is to internally develop tests using cheek swabs for sample collection and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based testing platform to bring to market accurate, convenient, and cost effective DNA screening tests for adolescents focused in three key areas of developmental disorders:

* Physical Developmental Disorders: Turner Syndrome, Klinefelter Syndrome, Down's Syndrome

* Cognitive Developmental Disorders: Dyslexia

* Behavioral Developmental Disorders: Fragile X

The company also has a novel therapeutic compound under development for the treatment 


of Periventricular White Matter Injury (PWMI) in premature infants. That program is currently in preclinical testing.

The underlying technology for the company's Turner syndrome and Dyslexia tests was developed at Yale University and is exclusively licensed to JS Genetics. Since 2006 the company has received seven SBIR (small business innovation research) awards totaling $3.4 million. Those grants have been the principal source of funding for the company's R&D initiatives. 

The company's first product, a Turner Syndrome screening test, is scheduled to be commercially available in the second quarter of 2010. The company's second product, based on the same underlying technology as the Turner test, is a screening test for Klinefelter syndrome, the most common generic abnormality in males. The product is currently in clinical validation trials and is scheduled to be commercialized in the first quarter of 2011.  In the next 18-36 months, the company plans to commercialize follow-on tests for identification of Fragile X and Trisomy 21 as well as offer a test for predisposition to Dyslexia.

 
 
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