University of Florida spin-off moving to Wisconsin

Madison, Wis. — NanoMedex, a University of Florida spin-off pharmaceutical company, is moving its headquarters and lab to Wisconsin on September 1 and has received funding from Kegonsa Capital Partners in Fitchburg, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The firm is developing a new formulation strategy for compounds that are poorly soluble in water, specifically to deliver fat-soluble drugs intravenously. Its main product is a new way to deliver propofol, the top intravenous anesthetic. Its president and CEO, David Cooper, has an M.D. from the University of Florida, but also served as senior vice president of services and chief medical officer for NimbleGen (now Roche NimbleGen), a Madison-based company in the gene sequencing market.

According to a summary of NanoMedex's technology and business from the Office of Technology Licensing of the University of Florida, the drawbacks of existing formulations of propofol include "susceptibility to bacterial growth (causing infection and necessitating the addition of a microbial), significant pain on injection, allergic reactions, and limited shelf life." NanoMedex's nanotechnology-based method is claimed to address these problems.