Knopp Neurosciences – Who says you can’t grow a drug company in Pittsburgh?

Via Scoop.it – ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Knopp Neurosciences is a Pittsburgh story. The drug development company is a startup gem – from founding, raising money, and executing on its business plan. But wait; Pittsburgh is supposedly not a good place to start a drug company. I hear statements like, “You can’t raise money in Pittsburgh for a drug company,” and “You can’t recruit to Pittsburgh the talent necessary for a drug company.” Oh yeah? Knopp proves that we can. First, a diagnostic. At Pitt, Bob Bowser, PhD, had discovered a potential ALS diagnostic. In the spring of 2004, LaunchCyte formed a company around the technology. Leading the charge were Tom Petzinger, LaunchCyte CEO, and Greg Hebrank, MD, a LaunchCyte investor who had been helping us triage opportunities. The company was named after Walter Knopp, a regional grocery store entrepreneur who died from ALS. Second, a drug. Like many startups, Knopp had to shift its business model as it morphed from a diagnostics to a drug company. Over the next three years, Knopp took dexpramipexole through Phase 1 and Phase II clinical trials. In August 2010, Knopp licensed the drug for ALS to Biogen Idec, a $4B-a-year pharmaceutical company that focuses on neurological diseases, for $345M in potential payments, plus royalties. With an upfront payment of $20M, a Knopp stock purchase of $60M, and future milestone and royalty payments if the drug is approved, that’s a lot of millions flowing into Pittsburgh.
Via www.popcitymedia.com