DeNovaMed - Making novel medicines to fight infection

Our Mission:
DeNovaMed aims to bring to market new antibacterials, with entirely new mechanisms of action, to provide new weapons against antibiotic resistance and help people suffering from resistant infections.

Our Disease Foci:
In the area of Gram-positive infections, methicillin-resistant Staph (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) pose a major threat to patients in hospitals and community health facilities by producing skin, wound, and systemic infections that cannot always be safely treated by currently available therapies. Beyond these current threats, Gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii are an emerging threat, with some patients in special circumstances (wounded soldiers, Cystic Fibrosis sufferers) already affected by these pan-resistant pathogens. The need for new antibacterials has not been more urgent in decades.

Our Technology:
The scientific founders of DeNovaMed are experts in both bacterial lipid metabolism and computer-aided drug design. This special subject-matter knowledge has allowed the company to produce entirely new classes of antibacterials with novel structures and mechanisms of action. Compounds for treatment of MRSA skin infections are in the preclinical phase and have shown impressive in vivo efficacy. The company also has an ongoing discovery program for Gram-negative adjuvants, which can improve the efficacy of older antibacterials as much as 260-fold.

Christopher Barden, PhD (Chief Operating Officer): An expert in computer-aided drug design, Dr. Barden has 15 years' experience in the field and has long been involved in the management of drug discovery/development projects, in both anti-infective and neurologic indications. He is also a registered U.S. patent agent and has handled IP matters for a number of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. A serial entrepreneur, Dr. Barden has helped to raise angel and venture capital for a number of start-up IT and life science companies.

Marcia Taylor, PhD (Group Leader, Biology): Dr. Taylor is an accomplished biochemist with deep expertise in enzymology, protein structure/function, bioinformatics, cell biology, and pharmacology.

Fan Wu, PhD (Group Leader, Chemistry): Dr. Wu is a veteran of several successful drug discovery programs (atheroschlerosis, Huntington's, anti-infectives).

Scientific Founders:

David Byers, PhD: Department Chair, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Department of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University; director, Atlantic Research Centre

Christopher McMaster, PhD: Canada Research Chair Biosignalling; Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University

Donald Weaver, MD, PhD: Canada Research Chair Neuroscience; Professor of Medicine (Neurology), Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry at Dalhousie University; co-founder, Neurochem; Prix Galien award winner.