VU divests drug program to Cumberland Pharma

Through a JV-type development entity, Vanderbilt University has divested to Cumberland Pharmaceutical a program original developed by BMS, which BMS gave to the JV entity, or something like that. Cumberland notes there's no approved treatment yet for Hepatorenal Syndrome, at which the program is aimed. The release is here.

Kazimi on Cumberland Pharma

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Founder, Chairman and CEO A. J. Kazimi (at left) told executives assembled for Owen GSM Professor Germain Boer's entrepreneurs breakfast this morning that one reason refused to withdraw his IPO from the SEC shelf was that his research showed that companies that did that never came back for a public offering. Instead, often because of cash woes, they sold, took private equity, or somesuch. Kazimi said Cumberland was doing fine on cash, and could afford to wait the reopening on the IPO window, and would need investment from the IPO to fuel its longer-term product-acquisitions strategy. The company made a record 20 amendments to its shelf filing, while waiting. Although the company attracted $85MM in gross proceeds and netted more than $75MM from its IPO Aug. 10, 2009, Kazimi said today that his priority is scaling-up his operations around Cumberland three current products, rather than immediately rushing to "drop in a fourth product." Once the IPO was imminent, Kazimi explained, he personally made about 100 presentations to investors in five days, including pitches he was obliged to make by phone during plane flights. Speakers during Boer's breakfasts are speaking off the record, unless they give permission to be quoted. Kazimi agreed VNC could write about his remarks. Kazimi's CPIX (NASDAQ) was trading at about $14 this morning.

TBA leadership condundrum

The Tennessee Biotechnology Association Board of Directors is regrouping and will confer tomorrow on how to proceed with recruiting a new chair, setting strategy and priorities and more. Here's our story. That's TBA President Joe Rolwing, at left.

Cumberland Pharma's Caldolor gets FDA nod

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals announced yesterday its Caldolor injectable for treatment of pain and fever won FDA approval for sale in the U.S., following a priority review. For the moment, apparently the product has no peer. The Cumberland drug is a formulation of ibuprofen. In addition to a statement by CP CEO A. J. Kazimi, yesterday's press release included a quote from Vanderbilt University Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Ken Holroyd (at left), who said the product is "welcomed." Vanderbilt partners with Cumberland in ownership of a local incubator, Cumberland Emerging Technologies. Holroyd serves on CET's board of directors. This week, Vanderbilt Vice Chancellor-Health Affairs Jeff Balser issued a new statement of Vanderbilt guidelines regarding averting conflicts of interest that might arise in relationships between University personnel and pharmaceutical companies, or other allies.

Cumberland Emerging Technologies allies with UT Research Foundation

Cumberland Emerging Technologies (CET) in Nashville today announced its collaboration with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) to pursue commercialization of a drug that may mitigate or even prevent asthma in children. The principal investigator on the drug is the UT College of Medicine's Dr. Dukhee Betty Lew.

TN BIO's Rolwing

Our story yesterday on 'Bionic Woman' Leslie Wisner-Lynch's role in advancing biotechnology in Middle Tennessee -- with observers' comments on the industry's halting progress -- drew a crowd. Not mentioned in that article is the fact that Tennessee Biotechnology Association is getting by with basically 75 percent of an executive director: TBA Chairman and President Bob Acuff told VNC he hopes the organization will soon be able to afford 100 percent of Executive Director Joe Rolwing's time. That's Joe at left in the adjoining photo, talking with a student during a recent TNBIO Student Chapter event (there's another scheduled Sept. 22). TBA contracts for the indefatigable Rolwing's services from Cumberland Emerging Technologies, the incubator that's controlled by Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Vanderbilt University and Tennessee Technology Development Corporation. Rolwing was only half-time a year or so ago. The balance of his time is apparently still spent as director of the CET Life Sciences Center.