Ablitech, Inc. is a biotechnology company founded in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA, that specializes in the development and commercialization of platform technologies that heal and protect the human body.[1]
History
Ablitech was co-founded in 2006 by Dr. Lisa Kemp, Dr. Nick Hammond and Dr. Kenneth Malone on technology licensed from The University of Southern Mississippi.
The formation of Ablitech was a direct result of the National Science Foundation program IGERT – an “interdisciplinary training program, educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training.” [2][3][4]
In 2007, Ablitech received a SBIR Phase I for the development of a bio-transformable drug-eluting coronary stent.[5] Then in 2008 they received another SBIR Phase I for the development of a cancer therapy.[6]
Ablitech received the Mississippi Seed Fund Research and Development investment in 2009 and in 2010.[7] Managed by the Mississippi Technology Alliance, the Mississippi Seed Fund provides high-tech, start-up companies with access to pre-seed financing, early stage risk capital, and product development capital to stimulate and accelerate the development of high-performance, technology-based business ventures in Mississippi.[8]
In 2011, Ablitech received a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense to develop a siRNA based therapy for heterotopic ossification.[9]
Location
Ablitech is located at the University of Maryland BioPark. The corporation relocated to Baltimore, Maryland in early 2012.[10]
Research
Ablitech's signature product, VersadelTM, is a nucleic acid platform delivery technology that “provides a non-toxic, biocompatible method for the systemic and local delivery of antisense DNA and siRNA in the body.” [11]