Ariel University & Drug Rediscovery Ltd. Announce the Establishment of an Academic Center for Drug

ARIEL, Israel - April 26, 2015 - PRLog -- Ariel University, Ariel University R&D Co. Ltd (the technology transfer organization of Ariel University) and Drug Rediscovery Ltd. are pleased to announce the establishment of a new institute at Ariel University aimed at finding and developing new therapeutic uses for existing drugs. It will be named the Center for Drug Repurposing.

The agreement calls for establishing a dedicated unit utilizing existing Ariel University researchers and capabilities as well as new recruits. Ariel University will be providing the physical infrastructure and Drug Rediscovery Ltd will manage the research group, bring in funding and grants to the center, and direct the drug rediscovery strategy.

Drug repurposing is the most rapid approach for bringing new treatments to the marketplace, reducing the time to market from as much as 15 years for new drugs down to as little as 2 years for repurposed drugs. It is the fastest growing segment in drug development and has recently surpassed standard new drug development in terms of annual FDA approval numbers.

The Center for Drug Repurposing is developing new collaborations with additional academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies both in Asia and the United States. The Center expects to reach an annual operating budget exceeding US $10M in the short term. Revenues from commercialization of drug repurposing will be split between Drug Rediscovery, Ltd. and Ariel University R&D.

Prof. Albert Pinhasov, Vice President and Dean of Research and Development at Ariel University said, "Drug repurposing has begun to receive wide attention in recent years. We believe the joint venture with Drug Rediscovery, Ltd. will enable our researchers to broaden their collaborations with other scientists worldwide, and should lead to novel scientific achievements. "

Larry Loev, CEO of Ariel University R&D said, “We’re very excited to be building a partnership between the University and Drug Rediscovery Ltd. Ariel University's departments of molecular biology and biological chemistry are staffed with excellent researchers and state-of-the-art laboratories. The repurposing of existing drugs is an important contribution to healthcare and personalized medicine and Drug Rediscovery Ltd is the perfect partner to help us bring life-saving drugs to the market.”

Drug Rediscovery Ltd. Drug Rediscovery Ltd. is a startup venture led by Moshe Rogosnitzky, a 15+ year veteran of personalized medicine and drug repurposing, and Emmanuel Elalouf – a 15+ year veteran of the Israeli biotech/ pharmaceutical industry. Among Mr. Rogosnitzky’s most notable achievements is the repurposing of the anti-addiction drug naltrexone for use in chronic diseases, a drug now utilized by over 300,000 patients worldwide in a variety of conditions.

Mr. Rogosnitzky said, “We are delighted with the formation of this unique public-private partnership which, to our knowledge, has created the world’s first academic center dedicated to drug repurposing.

This partnership enables us to benefit from the exceptional capabilities available at Ariel University--the fastest growing academic institution in the Middle East—combined with the speed of private industry. We are looking forward to making this center the world’s leading resource for drug repurposing and rediscovery.”

Ariel University and Ariel University R&D Co.

Ariel University is proud to be Israel’s newest and fastest growing institution of higher education. With faculty and students representing the full spectrum of Israeli society, Ariel University prides itself on a strong background in Life Science research which aims to meet the growing technology needs of the biotech industry. The University is home to over 15 research centers, over 300 faculty members that are leading experts in their fields and over 15,000 students that are empowered to succeed. Ariel University aspires to be a leading light in the research world in order to further Israel’s economic and social development, drawing on the immense potential of the Israeli people.

Ariel University R&D Co. is the tech transfer office of Ariel University. Ariel University R&D works to commercialize the cutting edge research and technology currently being developed by the University. This ensures that technology developed by the university makes its way to the marketplace where it may benefit consumers. Its core activities include technology scouting on campus, raising seed money for applied research, patent protection of assets and the commercialization of university developed technology.

Ariel University R&D has already had several successes with tens of millions dollars being invested in various projects in the field of clean energy such as ETV which focuses on the automotive industry and specializes in developing a high power revolutionary battery which can be used in cars. Other successful endeavors include a device for robotic surgery and telemedicine which have both raised millions of dollars in investments.