Out of the ivory tower

Deirdre Newman

While an academic environment is good for research, it’s not the ideal

setting for raising huge amounts of money.

That’s why two UC Irvine researchers have abandoned the ivory tower

and started a private company to develop a human antibody for the

paralyzing effects of multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries.

Tom Lane and Hans Keirstead founded Ability Biomedical Corp. and moved

into their new office in an Irvine business park this week. They expect

the laboratory to be up and running in a few weeks.

While they both intend to continue with their teaching

responsibilities at UCI, they said starting a private company will enable

them to raise more money faster and expedite the development of the

antibody on their own terms.

“You either hand it off to a big pharmaceutical, if they’re so

interested, or move it forward yourself,” Keirstead said. “So Tom and I

have created a company to build it forward ourselves because we feel that

we are the best minds since we are the founders of the technology in the

first place.”

Lane came to UCI in 1998 and started working on a viral model for

multiple sclerosis right away. Scientists don’t know the exact cause of

the disease but suspect there could be a link between a viral infection

and multiple sclerosis, Lane said.

His research in mice identified a protein that was found in large

supply in areas where parts of nerve tissue had been destroyed by the

ailment. This model confirmed the pattern of multiple sclerosis in

patients and was the first to show the potency of the protein’s effect in

an animal model.

The next step was developing an antibody, which was so successful that

it reversed paralysis in mice that had been injected with a virus that

causes a multiple sclerosis-like disease.

“When the animals started walking again, we saw repair of the nervous

tissue,” Lane said.

The collaboration between Lane, an assistant professor of molecular

biology and biochemistry, and Keirstead, an assistant professor of

anatomy and neurobiology, started after Lane gave a presentation at UCI’s

Reeve Irvine Research Center, where Keirstead works. Keirstead, an expert

in spinal cord regeneration, saw similarities between the research Lane

was conducting on multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries.

Keirstead suggested using Lane’s antibody on his model of spinal cord

injuries, and it worked “like gangbusters” to block paralysis in mice,

Lane said.

In addition to the scientific research, the personalities of the two

scientists meshed as well, Lane said.

It was Keirstead who came up with the idea of starting a private

company about a year and a half ago. Keirstead drew on his experience

beginning a previous company in Canada. He is chief executive and

president of Ability Biomedical, while Lane is the chief scientific

officer.

“I know how to build a company and raise money,” Keirstead said. “It

was a very clear path for me and an extension of our desire to move this

science into people.”The business plan for the company wowed investors,

scoring funding on the company’s first round of venture capital

presentations.

The researchers also had to license the technology they developed from

UCI, crediting university officials with supporting their endeavor.

The company expects to develop a human antibody within a year and to

start clinical trials within another year.

Lane stressed the company will not be able to choose specifically who

can participate in the clinical trials.

The researchers will also explore other potential targets for treating

multiple sclerosis and ways its technology can be applied to other

diseases, such as strokes.

Walking through the empty lab that will soon be bustling with

activity, Lane said he is excited to see their efforts come to fruition.

“[Keirstead] and I got our PhDs and went into biomedical research with

the goal of developing something to help people, and we’re in the

position now to really make that happen,” Lane said.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .