Oncotartis, Inc

OncoTartis, Inc. is a private biotechnology company established in 2011. It is located at the Thomas R. Beecher Innovation Center on Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. It has a strategic partnership with Roswell Park Cancer Institute where the original intellectual property was developed in the laboratory of Professor Andrei Gudkov. Mission: to revolutionize treatment of a subset of cancers (breast, prostate, ovarian, melanoma and hematological malignancies) by developing a novel category of anti-cancer drugs directed against tissue- specific targets. Technology: OncoTartis is exploring a proprietary drug discovery approach called “TARTIS” (TARTIS = TARgeting TISsue). TARTIS is designed to develop small molecules for treatment of malignancies originating from specific tissues that are either non-essential for the general viability of mammalian organism (i.e, gender-associated tissues or melanocytes) or can be effectively replaced (hematopoietic system). Leading candidate: An anti-AML candidate, OT-82, has a favorable set of structural, ADME and toxicological properties. A broad composition of matter patent application was filed in 2013. OT-82 is an NAMPT (NicotinAMide Phosphoribosyl Transferase) inhibitor. A remarkably broad spectrum of NAMPT functions positions OT-82 as a drug candidate for treatment of other NAMPT-dependent cancers, inflammatory diseases and disorders associated with deregulated circadian clock.