The University of Prince Edward Island has launched a new pharmaceutical research company.
Bio-valuation Outsourcing Solution Inc., or BioVOS, will test drugs for metabolic, neuro-inflammatory and cardiovascular disorders like stroke and heart disease.
The company’s laboratory will be based in UPEI’s Atlantic Veterinarian College. Three Oaks Innovations Inc., the commercial arm of UPEI, helped launch BioVOS.
BioVOS is the fourth spinoff company from the university.
The company will screen drugs with animal models. The models are either in vitro, made of cell cultures, or an in vivo model, which is a live animal.
Last year, Dr. Tarek Saleh and Dr. Bobby Khan developed an anti-inflammatory compound called UPEI-100. The university licensed it to Carmel Biosciences for testing, but UPEI retained full ownership of the compound.
Saleh, professor of biomedical sciences and CEO of BioVOS, said the company is in the proof of concept stage for two years.
In a press release, Saleh said pharmaceutical companies face real challenges when trying to sell a new drug.
“Contract research organizations, such as BioVOS, can help streamline that process and make it more affordable,” he said.
UPEI president Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz said it could take up to 20 years to develop a drug.
“For every 5,000, only one will make it to the shelf,” he said.
The spinoff company couldn’t happen without Three Oaks, said the university president.
“It is actually all of us that makes this possible.”
jeez, I hate the idea of animals being used even though I'm a lab technologist; but guess it's no different than slaughtering animals for food; I'm too soft for this world!