biotechnology founded 2001 headquarters charlottesville virginia u.s. key people david kalergis co founder and ceo john l. gainer co founder and chief science officer products trans sodium crocetinate . number of employees 10 website diffusionpharma.com diffusion pharmaceuticals llc is a biotechnology and drug development company based in charlottesville virginia u.s. 1 it was co founded in 2001 by american life sciences entrepreneur david kalergis and university of virginia chemical engineering professor john l. gainer . 1 gainer is the inventor of the company s platform technology of oxygen diffusion enhancing compounds and its lead drug trans sodium crocetinate tsc . 2 tsc acts to increase the rate at which oxygen moves through blood plasma by the process of diffusion 3 a phenomenon that forms the basis for the company s name . tsc and other oxygen diffusion enhancing compounds including bipolar trans carotenoid salts the subclass to which tsc belongs have been investigated by diffusion pharmaceuticals for treatment of conditions associated with reduced oxygen availability in tissues hypoxia . 1 3 contents 1 research activities 2 clinical trials 3 intellectual property 4 awards 5 references 6 external links research activities edit entrance to diffusion pharmaceuticals laboratories . gainer invented the concept of oxygen diffusion enhancing compounds and its specific embodiment tsc while a professor of chemical engineering at the university of virginia . he secured the first patent on the molecule and its uses in 2000 . before tsc s invention he and colleagues conducted research on the effects of oxygen diffusion enhancing compounds in various animal disease models including atherosclerosis arthritis and cancer . at that time crocetin a naturally occurring carotenoid compound was the focus of their research . with the invention of tsc their research turned to the potential use of this synthetic oxygen diffusion enhancing compound for the improved treatment of hemorrhagic shock shock caused by the loss of a large volume of blood on the battlefield . 2 3 4 this research which was supported financially by the united states office of naval research onr was conducted in gainer s university of virginia laboratory . following the company s formation by kalergis and gainer in 2001 both onr 5 and private funding 6 was obtained enabling company researchers to set up their own laboratory and along with collaborators perform further preclinical studies into uses of tsc in the treatment of hemorrhagic shock and other hypoxic conditions such as ischemic stroke central nervous system cns disorders and cancer . 3 7 8 9 clinical trials edit in 2007 tsc was advanced into clinical trials in humans . clinical investigation first centered on the drug s safety and pharmacokinetic pk parameters in normal healthy volunteers . this was followed in 2009 2010 by a multi center randomized placebo controlled clinical trial examining tsc s safety and efficacy in the re oxygenation of tissues in patients affected by peripheral artery disease . 10 intellectual property edit between 2008 and 2012 diffusion pharmaceuticals expanded its intellectual property portfolio having been awarded new patents in the united states and internationally that covered the synthesis and uses of bipolar trans carotenoid salts and related compounds in peripheral artery disease cancer and other indications . 11 in 2011 tsc received an orphan drug designation from the united states food and drug administration for the use of tsc as a radiosensitizer in the treatment of newly diagnosed gbm patients . in accordance with standard practice the orphan drug designation for tsc confers benefits including enhanced patent protection and marketing rights waiver of certain fda filing fees and favorable tax treatment . 12 by mid 2012 the company had been issued nine u.s. and eleven international patents . 11 awards edit in 2012 diffusion pharmaceuticals won the virginia healthcare innovators award in the medical product or device category for its development of tsc . 13 references edit a b c company overview of diffusion pharmaceuticals llc . bloomberg businessweek . retrieved november 10 2012 . a b us patent 6 060 511 gainer j trans sodium crocetinate methods of making and methods of use thereof issued 2000 05 09 a b c d gainer j 2008 . trans sodium crocetinate for treating hypoxia ischemia . expert opinion in investigational drugs . 17 6 917 924 . doi 10.1517 13543784.17.6.917 . giassi l et al. 2001 . trans sodium crocetinate restores blood pressure heart rate and plasma lactate after hemorrhagic shock . journal of trauma injury infection & critical care . 55 5 932 938 . doi 10.1097 00005373 200111000 00018 . pmid 11706343 . navy adds to diffusion pharmaceuticals funding . techjournal south . february 6 2007 . retrieved october 30 2012 . diffusion pharmaceuticals raises 2.1 million in private equity round human testing of its lead compound tsc planned for 2005 . techjournal south . retrieved october 30 2012 . lapchak p 2010 . efficacy and safety profile of the carotenoid trans sodium crocetinate administered to rabbits following multiple infarct ischemic strokes a combination therapy study with tissue plasminogen activator . brain research . 1309 136 145 . doi 10.1016 j.brainres .2009.10.067 . pmid 19891959 . manabe h et al. 2010 . protection against focal ischemic injury to the brain by trans sodium crocetinate . journal of neurosurgery . 113 4 802 809 . doi 10.3171 2009.10 . jns09562 . pmc 3380430 . pmid 19961314 . sheehan jason ; et al. 2008 . use of trans sodium crocetinate for sensitizing glioblastoma multiforme to radiation . journal of neurosurgery . 108 5 972 978 . doi 10.3171 jns 2008 108 5 0972 . pmid 18447715 . safety efficacy and pharmacokinetics pk study of trans sodium crocetinate tsc in patients with intermittent claudication . clinicaltrials.gov . 2008 . retrieved october 22 2012 . a b diffusion pharmaceuticals intellectual property . diffusion pharmaceuticals . retrieved october 30 2012 . usfda results of orphan drug product designations search . food and drug administration . retrieved october 30 2012 . diffusion pharmaceuticals wins 2012 va healthcare innovators award . virginia biotechnology association . retrieved october 30 2012 . external links edit v t e pharmaceutical companies of the united states abbott laboratories acorda therapeutics actavis aderis pharmaceuticals adolor corporation alcon alexion pharmaceuticals alkermes allergan alza amgen amylin pharmaceuticals ariad pharmaceuticals aryx therapeutics avax technologies baxter international biocryst pharmaceuticals biogen biolex biovest biovista bradley pharmaceuticals bristol myers squibb cancervax century pharmaceuticals cephalon ceragenix pharmaceuticals combe incorporated cortex pharmaceuticals cotherix covance covidien cubist pharmaceuticals cutter laboratories cytosport cytrx danco laboratories dnaprint genomics epix pharmaceuticals eli lilly and company elorac endo pharmaceuticals ethicon endo surgery ethicon inc. forest laboratories galena biopharma genvec genentech genta gilead sciences hospira imclone systems institute for oneworld health intercept pharmaceuticals ista pharmaceuticals ivax corporation janssen biotech johnson & johnson kinetic concepts king pharmaceuticals kinray kv pharmaceutical leiner health products mallinckrodt martek biosciences corporation s. e. massengill company mckesson corporation mcneil laboratories melior discovery mentholatum merck & co. miles laboratories mylan myriad genetics naurex nereus pharmaceuticals northwest biotherapeutics norwich pharma services novabay pharmaceuticals nuvelo organon international ortho pharmaceutical ortho mcneil pharmaceutical osi pharmaceuticals ovation pharmaceuticals par pharmaceutical parke davis perrigo pfizer pharmaceutical product development prasco laboratories procter & gamble proteon therapeutics purdue pharma qualitest quark pharmaceuticals regeneron repros therapeutics rib x pharmaceuticals sarepta therapeutics savage laboratories schering plough g. d. searle & company sheffield pharmaceuticals smith kline & french spectrum pharmaceuticals sterling drug tanox tap pharmaceutical products tec laboratories teva pharmaceutical industries tiens biotech group titan pharmaceuticals trevena inc trubion upjohn upsher smith laboratories valeant pharmaceuticals ventria bioscience vertex pharmaceuticals verus pharmaceuticals vion pharmaceuticals inc. viropharma west pharmaceutical services wyeth zonite products corporation list of pharmaceutical companies retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title diffusion pharmaceuticals & oldid 678776044 categories pharmaceutical companies of the united statescompanies based in virginiahidden categories use mdy dates from november 2012 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more 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