News & Events
News
Stem Pharm to Present Neural Organoid Platform at Science Magazine Webinar
March 19, 2024
Connie Lebakken, Stem Pharm’s co-founder and COO, will provide an overview of Stem Pharm’s neural organoid platform and application to drug discovery as part of a Science Magazine webinar on 3D cell culture technologies and organoids on March 20th at 12 PM EDT.
Stem Pharm and Verge Genomics Form Collaboration Focused on Parkinson’s Disease
October 10, 2023
Stem Pharm, Inc., a drug discovery platform company leveraging 3D neuro-immune organoids and Verge Genomics, a biotechnology company transforming drug discovery using artificial intelligence (AI) and patient tissue data, announced a collaboration to develop a disease model to validate novel targets identified by Verge for Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Stem Pharm Awarded NIH SBIR Grant to Advance Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroinflammation Research
September 21, 2023
Stem Pharm, a pioneering neurologic drug discovery company, is excited to announce that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance a groundbreaking model of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) for drug discovery. The grant, from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging, will support the development of an innovative stem cell derived 3D neuro-immune organoid to study the role of microglia and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease, ultimately paving the way for novel drug discovery applications.
Stem Pharm Awarded STTR Grant from National Cancer Institute for Advanced Glioblastoma Research
August 10, 2023
Stem Pharm, a pioneering biotechnology company, is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to advance cutting-edge research in glioblastoma, a devastating form of brain cancer. The grant will support the development of innovative neural organoid models to study the immunological microenvironment of glioblastoma, ultimately paving the way for novel drug discovery applications. The collaborative effort will be undertaken in partnership with Dr. Mahua Dey, Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of Surgical Oncology, and Dr. Christian Capitini, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Missed us at ISSCR 2023?
Stem Pharm presented two posters:
#700 - “Assessment of microglial activity in an induced pluripotent stem-cell derived neural organoid on synthetic hydrogels to study neuroinflammation”
#701 - “Chemically defined substrates in a ready-to-use format that promote adhesion, neurite extension and long-term cultures for multiple induced pluripotent-derived neural subtypes”
Click here for access to posters
Missed us at SLAS 2023?
Stem Pharm presented two posters:
#1245-B - “Chemically Defined Substrates in a Ready-To-Use Format That Promote Adhesion, Neurite Extension and Long-Term Cultures for Multiple iPSC-Derived Neural Subtypes for Screening Applications”
#1319-D - “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Organoids Incorporating Microglia for Interrogation of Neural Inflammation”
Click here for access to posters
Missed us at Neuroscience 2022?
Stem Pharm presented two posters:
#701.08 - "Modeling Neuroinflammation induced by Amyloid Beta Oligomers in Cultured Human iPSC-Derived Neural Organoids on Synthetic Hydrogels"
#442.04 - “Modeling neuroinflammation with iPSC-derived microglia cultured on synthetic hydrogels”
Click here for access to posters
Stem Pharm Joins Merck Digital Sciences Studio Accelerator Program To Drive Innovations In Neurological Drug Discovery
Stem Pharm, Inc. announced today that the company has joined the first biopharmaceutical cohort of Merck Digital Sciences Studio (“MDSS”). MDSS is a collaboration between Merck, Microsoft for Startups, and the New Jersey Innovation Institute, a New Jersey Institute of Technology subsidiary, with direct investments from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Northpond Ventures, and McKesson Ventures. This 10-month startup accelerator program is designed to enable the generation of innovative technologies for drug discovery and development. Cohort companies will have opportunities to pilot novel life sciences technologies in collaboration with discovery and clinical scientists at Merck.
Stem Pharm receives 2022 Wisconsin Innovation Award!
October 13, 2022
Stem Pharm has been named the 2022 Wisconsin Innovation Award Recipient! Nine winners were honored from the 30 finalists and more than 300 nominees during the 2022 Wisconsin Innovation Awards at the Memorial Union in Madison. The ceremony recognized the state’s most innovative products and services from eight industry categories. The 2022 winners were selected by a panel of 19 statewide experts with backgrounds in business sectors such as technology, food, healthcare, agriculture, nonprofits, education and government.
Stem Pharm attended the 20th annual ISSCR meeting
July, 2022
Stem Pharm had the honor of attending and presenting two posters at the 20th annual ISSCR meeting in San Francisco, CA. This meeting gave Stem Pharm great opportunities to network within the stem cell community and present research regarding the Stem Pharm Neural Organoid platform and synthetic substrate research. Stem Pharm presented the following posters:
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Organoids Incorporating Microglia for Interrogation of Neural Inflammation
Chemically defined substrates in a ready to use format that promote differentiation, accelerated maturation and neurite extension of multiple neuronal subtypes for screening applications
Stem Pharm announced as 2022 Wisconsin Innovation Award finalist
July 18, 2022
Thirty companies have been selected as finalists for the 2022 Wisconsin Innovation Awards. In total, more than 300 business, products, and services from around the state were nominated. The finalists were determined by a panel of 19 statewide industry experts, with winners to be announced at the annual awards ceremony on October 12, 2022. Nominations spanned across the state of Wisconsin, representing startups, organizations, and established businesses of all sizes and industries.
Stem Pharm participated in BIO, the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology companies
June, 2022
The Bio International Convention is the premier partnering event for the industry and features more than 3,000 international and domestic companies attending and 100-plus panel sessions over four days. Topics include therapy targets, next-generation biotherapeutics, business development, patient advocacy, and public policy. One of the features of the convention is the extensive BIO One-on-One Partnering that allows you to find potential business partners and request meetings with senior biotech executives, business development leaders, and investors from premier firms.
Stem Pharm’s participation:
Invited to join the NIH Innovation Zone as a featured company
Stem Pharm was spotlighted in an invited Company Presentation on Thursday June 16, delivered by CEO, Steven Visuri
Held numerous one-on-one meetings over 3 days of the conference with business prospects, potential collaborators and investors
Stem Pharm attended the MPS World Summit in New Orleans, LA
June, 2022
Check out the talk given by Stem Pharm:
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Organoids Incorporating Microglia for Interrogation of Neural Inflammation
Stem Pharm presented the following posters:
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Organoids Incorporating Microglia for Interrogation of Neural Toxicity
Advanced synthetic biomaterials that enable microphysiological systems
Stem Pharm poster presentations at SLAS
February, 2022
Check out posters Stem Pharm presented at the 2022 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) Conference and Exhibition:
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Organoids Incorporating Microglia for Interrogation of Neural Inflammation and Toxicity
Chemically defined substrates in a ready to use format that promote differentiation, accelerated maturation and neurite extension of multiple neuronal subtypes for screening applications
Stem Pharm welcomes their newest Advisor, Dr. Edsel Abud
January 26th, 2022
Dr. Edsel Abud has joined Stem Pharm’s talented team of Advisors. While attending University of California Irvine for his MD and PhD as part of the NIH's Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), Dr. Abud notably developed one of the first methods to generate human microglia from stem cells, showing their functional genomics and how they play a role in health and disease. Dr. Abud was also the first to demonstrate that human microglia can develop and engraft in mouse brains. Edsel is currently a KL2 Clinical Scholar at Scripps Translational Institute where he is completing his research track specialty in Allergy and Immunology and an internal medicine residency. His future work will focus on Siglec biology (e.g. CD33) and its regulation of myeloid cell compartments in health and disease.
Dr. Ryan Gordon joins the Stem Pharm team as Sr. V.P. of Business Development
January 10th, 2022
Dr. Ryan Gordon has joined the Stem Pharm team as Sr. V.P. of Business Development and Commercialization. Gordon brings to Stem Pharm over 20 years of business, R&D, and operational experience in developing and commercializing innovative biopharmaceutical technologies to revolutionize disease treatment and improve patient outcomes. He has been a valued leader at large companies (3M) and emerging startups (Rion, StemoniX, Rebiotix) where he made significant contributions to the pioneering development of regenerative exosome and microbiome therapeutics, 3D organoids for drug discovery, and novel drug delivery technologies. Notably, Dr. Gordon led business and market development at StemoniX, commercializing the first industrial-scale 3D human neural and cardiac organoids for drug discovery and preclinical development and launching the company’s contract services business. He has contributed to numerous patents and has co-authored research publications related to stem cell applications in drug discovery and preclinical development, microbiome therapeutics, and transdermal drug delivery. Dr. Gordon earned a Ph.D. and B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and completed a mini-MBA at the University of St. Thomas.
Stem Pharm to Present its Advanced Biomaterials and Neural Organoid Technologies at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2021 Meeting
November 8th, 2021
Visit Stem Pharm's virtual posters at Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Meeting Nov 8-11 and learn about our organoids for assessing neural inflammation and toxicity (Poster 015.05 presented by Joshua Zimmermann) and our synthetic substrates for neuron differentiation and maturation (Poster 0170.01 presented by Will Richards).
Stem Pharm Joins the Microphysiological Systems (MPS) Initiative of the North American 3Rs Collaborative (NA3RsC) that is Working to Refine, Reduce, & Replace Animals in Research
We’re proud to be part of the NA3RsC’s Microphysiological Systems (MPS) initiative, working to increase industry adoption and regulatory acceptance of MPS technologies with the goal of refining, reducing, and replacing research animals. Check us out in the listing of MPS technology providers. You'll find Stem Pharm under CNS, tumor, and vascular solutions.
Stem Pharm Senior Scientist, Joshua Zimmermann, Gives a Talk on Biomaterials for 3D Applications at SELECT BIO’s “Introduction to Implementing 3D Culture Models” Webinar, Sponsored by Promega
September 9th, 2021
Through control of properties such as substrate mechanical stiffness and adhesion ligand presentation, materials can be designed that enable more physiologically relevant extracellular environments and better direct cellular behaviors within 3D models. At Stem Pharm, we are applying these principles to design PEG-based hydrogels for the development of in vitro neural models.
Stem Pharm Presents iPSC Derived Organoids at MPS World Summit
June 14th, 2021
Stem Pharm recently had a poster presentation featured at the MPS World Summit entitled "Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural organoids generated on synthetic hydrogels for interrogation of neural inflammation and toxicity."
Stem Pharm Connects with SBA Administrator Guzman
August 5th, 2021
Stem Pharm co-founder Connie Lebakken met with U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. and the Center for Technology Commercialization to share information about how SBA programs are boosting innovation in Wisconsin. SBIR funds have provided critical support to move Stem Pharm’s organoid and biomaterial technologies and our company forward.
Stem Pharm Presented a Poster at the Society of Toxicology’s (SOT) 2021 Annual Meeting
March 22nd, 2021
Stem Pharm presented a poster entitled “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Organoids Generated on Synthetic Hydrogels for Interrogation of Neural Inflammation and Toxicity.”
Stem Pharm Co-Founder Dr. William Murphy Delivered Webinar at A*Star Singapore
March 8th, 2021
Dr. Murphy presented a webinar at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research entitled "Robust and Scalable Assembly of Human Organoids for Disease Modeling and Discovery."
$100,000 State Matching Grant from WEDC and CTC Awarded to Stem Pharm
September 28th, 2020
Six businesses in Wisconsin, including Stem Pharm, received $100,000 each to commercialize their innovations, thanks to the SBIR Advance program’s latest round of funding. The state matching grants provide assistance to companies in the process of completing SBIR or STTR programs.
Stem Pharm Awarded $1.7M NIH SBIR Grant for Better Models of the Brain
March 17th, 2021
Stem Pharm has been awarded a $1.7 million SBIR grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to optimize its induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived model of the central nervous system for drug discovery and toxicology applications. Stem Pharm’s model fills a commercial need to accurately reflect the complexity of cell types and important cell-to-cell interactions in the developing brain. It is the most comprehensive commercially available neural model and is particularly differentiated by the ability to study neuroinflammation, important for toxicology studies and implicated in devastating neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Stem Pharm’s neural model is expected to add tremendous value in neural toxicology screening and may help reduce the reliance on animal testing for the biopharmaceutical and industrial chemical industries.
Stem Pharm has been Awarded a $1.5M Phase II NIH SBIR Grant from NINDS
August 12th, 2020
Stem Pharm has been awarded a Phase II NIH SBIR grant (R44NS102088; PI: Dr. Lebakken) through the National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke (NINDS) entitled: Synthetic hydrogels for biomanufacturing of iPSC-derived neural cells for precision medicine. This effort will use Stem Pharm’s hydrogel coatings for efficient differentiation and maturation of iPSC-derived neurons that can be used for modeling neurodevelopmental disorders and enabling new precision therapies.
Illumina Accelerator Turns Five and Backs Five New Startups
October 21st, 2019
Stem Pharm, Inc. announced its selection for the 10th funding cycle of the highly competitive Illumina Accelerator. Illumina Accelerator provides extensive mentorship and access to sequencing systems, reagents, and lab space in the San Francisco Bay Area over a six-month period. This milestone is a major step for Stem Pharm on its mission to leverage its biomaterials and cell biology expertise in commercial applications of stem cell-derived human tissues and therapies. Stem Pharm plans to use next-generation sequencing resources at Illumina to validate the physiologic relevance and predictive capabilities of Stem Pharm’s cell and tissue models.
Stem Pharm Featured on Big10 Network Celebrating 20th Anniversary of Published Paper
February 6th, 2019
Stem Pharm is featured in a segment that appeared on the Big10 Network celebrating the 20th anniversary of the publication of “Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts,” the seminal paper published in Science by James Thomson at UW-Madison. The video highlights our efforts to translate this important discovery to clinical use in therapeutics and drug development.