BR company close to testing cancer drug
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Esperance Pharmaceuticals Inc., Louisiana’s first biotech firm to develop targeted anticancer drugs, is within 15 to 18 months of testing to see if its product is safe for use in people.
Company officials made the announcement today at a ceremony marking the opening of Esperance’s corporate headquarters and laboratories in the Louisiana Emerging Technology Center.
“We believe this is a major technical advance over what is being developed out there,” company President Hector W. Alila said. “We are targeting specific molecules on the surface of cancer cells, and so our drug seeks out these cells and kills them.”
The Phase I testing will likely start with ovarian cancer, Alila said.
Esperance was founded on technology discovered and patented by scientists at the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the LSU AgCenter, and LSU itself.
The company originally received backing from Louisiana Fund I LP of Baton Rouge. Esperance has since secured a $9 million Series A financing from Louisiana Fund I, Shreveport-based Themelios Venture Partners LP and Research Corporation Technologies Inc. of Tucson, Ariz.
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