Successes
By carefully researching opportunities and providing the needed support, RCT has helped several ventures become successful. The following are among those we believe will have a significant impact within their field.
VENTURES
Option 3
Option 3 is a medical device development and commercialization vehicle formed by Research Corporation Technoliogies and James Dreher to invest in the development and commercialization of select medical device products that are not technically complex, capital intensive to develop or require significant clinical data to be approved and marketed. Option 3’s first investment is in Axiom ...
Therapeutic Human Polyclonals, Inc.
Therapeutic Human Polyclonals, Inc., (THP) was founded as a biotherapeutics company to develop a unique transgenic mammalian platform to create human antibodies. THP was the first company to create transgenic rabbits with a human antibody repertoire for producing both monoclonal and polyclonal antibody therapeutics. Roche, the world’s largest biotechnology company, completed its acquisition of THP for ...
VasoNova, Inc.
VasoNova, Inc. was founded as a medical device company to develop an algorithm-based combination of intravascular Doppler ultrasound and electrocardiography to guide and place vascular access devices, such as a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), with precision and reliability. The company’s Vascular Positioning System™ (VPS) uses multiple internal physiological parameters to accurately place the catheter ...
Technologies
Cisplatin and Carboplatin Anticancer Drugs
Cisplatin and carboplatin are two of the most widely prescribed anticancer agents. Dr. Barnett Rosenberg and colleagues at Michigan State University discovered these highly effective drugs when they found that a simple platinum-based compound prevented bacteria from replicating normally. Rosenberg wondered whether the compound would have a similar effect on cancer cells. His tests and ...
Fullerenes
Fullerenes are new forms of pure carbon with chemical, electrical, and physical characteristics quite different from the two previously known forms, graphite and diamond. The most common fullerene configuration is a soccer-ball-shaped molecule of 60 atoms (buckyballs), although carbon-70 and other variations can also be made. Researchers are studying fullerenes for use as a foundation ...
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF)
Dr. Donald Metcalf’s discovery of colony-stimulating factors (CSF) resulted in their widespread use to prevent infection in cancer chemotherapy patients, AIDS patients and persons with rare white-blood-cell diseases. CSFs are hormone-like substances secreted by cells in tiny amounts. Their release influences white-blood-cell precursors and progenitor cells in bone marrow. When stimulated, progenitor cells divide and produce ...
PEGylation: Non-Immunogenic Delivery of Protein-Based Drugs
Some proteins, particularly enzymes, are available as drugs and many more are being investigated for their therapeutic potential. But many degrade quickly and lose effectiveness, and some can cause allergic reactions. In the 1960s, researchers found that attaching protein fragments to proteins could reduce the immunogenicity of the protein. Subsequently, Dr. Frank Davis and colleagues found ...
Prostate-Specific Antigen Blood Test for Prostate Cancer
The prostate-specific antigen test is now a routine component of cancer screening programs. The test allows for earlier detection, monitoring of treatment response and prediction of disease recurrence. Elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen in the blood suggest enlargement or tumors of the prostate, which can be confirmed by ultrasound test and biopsy. Since prostate tumors ...
Silver Sulfadiazine Burn Ointment
Although major burns create serious medical crises, most burn deaths are attributable to infections rather than the burns themselves. Dr. Charles L. Fox Jr., a bacteriologist in a surgical unit, combined two known antibacterial agents for burns, silver nitrate and sulfadiazine, to create a synergistic compound that is extremely effective against infection. Silver sulfadiazine burn ...
Technetium-99M Complexes for Cardiac Imaging
Before cardiologists can treat heart attack survivors and others suffering from heart disease, they need to know the condition of the heart. Radioactive imaging gives physicians a noninvasive way to distinguish between functional and nonfunctional heart tissue. A radioactive form of technetium, technetium-99m or 99mTc, is superior for medical imaging. This radioisotope is readily available, and ...
VIMPAT® (lacosamide) for Treatment of Epileptic Seizures
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that affects over 20 million people worldwide including 2 million in the United States. No single drug controls all types of epileptic seizures, and different drugs are required for different patients. Many current antiepileptic drugs have undesirable side effects and physicians must monitor patients closely for signs of toxicity. In ...