Partners

Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd

 Rohto is an ideal partner to develop Signum’s lead STM as well as future STM compounds. The synergies in this alliance are strong because Signum and Rohto have complementary strengths. Signum has strong basic and applied research; Rohto excels in actual product development. Signum is resource constrained and wants to develop strong products quickly; Rohto has large financial and product-development resources it can deploy rapidly. Rohto is a Japan-based company that manufactures and sells a wide range of products including skincare, eye care, and oral medicines. Headquartered in Osaka, Rohto has 20 subsidiaries and five associated companies, giving them broad reach in the Japanese consumer markets. We will jointly develop new applications and products for Arazine™ and solidify the research partnership by establishing a Signum laboratory in Rohto’s RVK (Research Village Kyoto) facility. Our partnership will contribute to Rohto’s strategic goals, while enhancing the commercial, business development and market focus of Signum’s technologies. We look forward to a productive and long term relationship.   

http://www.rohto.co.jp/global/

Princeton University

Signum has extensive ongoing interaction with the Research laboratory of Dr. Jeffry Stock in the Dept. of Molecular Biology. Signum licensed its foundational PP2A and AFC technology from Dr. Stock's laboratory and his laboratory continues to do basic research to elucidate the underlying biochemistry of these systems. Dr. Stock's laboratory has been able to perform various sophisticated tests on some of Signum's active agents, and continues to be a source of knowledge and expertise.

Dr. Stock's Princeton University Profile

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

Dr. M. Maral Mouradian, MD, is a William Dow Lovett Professor of Neurology at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Her current research focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease with an emphasis on the mechanisms by which pathogenic gene products cause neurodegeneration in cellular and mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. In collaboration with Signum, Dr. Mouradian will provide use of these models to help test promising new compounds with the goal of developing new therapeutic strategies for treating Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Mouradian's UMDNJ Profile

University of Pennsylvania: School of Medicine

Dr. John T. Seykora laboratory (Department of Dermatology) has established various in vitro and in vivo (mouse) model systems suitable to study molecular mechanisms that keratinocytes use to regulate growth and differentiation. In collaboration, Signum and Dr. Seykora laboratory are assessing the effects of GPM compounds on UVB induced inflammation and the effects on inflammatory mediator release.

Visit Dr. Seykora's UPenn Page

Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Diane Thiboutot (Department of Dermatology) is a research leader in sebum production, a criticial factor in the pathogenesis of acne. In addition to being a member of Signum's scientific advisory board, in collaboration with Dr. Thiboutot, the modulating effects of STMs will be tested on sebocyte lipogenesis.

Dr. Thiboutot's PennState Profile

Universtiy of Maryland School of Medicine

In collaboration with Prof. Geoffrey Girnun, Signum is actively working on elucidating the effects of its GPM technology on PPARs. Because of their broad profile of beneficial effects on skin (e.g. anti-inflammatory, reducing inflammation in animal models of allergic and irritant contact dermatitis, regulation of keratinocyte proliferation and apoptosis), PPARs have great potential to serve as drug targets for common skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis.

Dr. Girnun University of Maryland Profile

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

In collaboration with Dr. John DiGiovanni, through a recently awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) NIH Phase I grant, we will test the efficacy of topically applied Arazine™ and second generation compounds in a mouse psoriasis model.

Dr. DiGiovanni's MDACC profile

Weill Medical College of Cornell University and University of Pittsburgh

In collaboration with Dr. Richard Granstein, Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Dr. Granstein's lab is testing the modulating effects of STMs on key signaling receptors in endothelial cell-based models that are implicated in acne and rosacea inflammatory signaling pathways.

Dr. Granstein's Weill Cornell Medical College Profile

University of California at Irvine

In collaboration with Dr. Frank LaFerla, Chancellor's Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior; Director of the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders at the University of California Irvine, Dr. LaFerla's lab is examining the therapeutic effects of our STMs in his 3xTg mouse model for Alzheimer’s.

Dr. LaFerla's UC Irvine Profile

Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval (Québec)

In collaboration with Emmanuel Planel, currently Assistant Professor at the University of Laval and recently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s Taub Institute for Research, Dr. Planel's lab is exploring various therapeutic effects of our STMs on anesthesia-induced dementias in rodent models.

Dr. Planel's CHUL Profile (in french)
Dr. Planel's Alzheimer's Forum Profile

New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities

In collaboration with Dr. Khalid Iqbal, a pioneer in Alzheimer's neurofibrillary degeneration Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurochemistry, at the NY State Institute for Basic Research, Dr. Iqbal's lab is exploring the effects of our STMs in various rat and mouse models for Alzheimer’s.

Rutgers University and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

In collaboration with Dr. Ann Stock, professor at Rutgers/UMDNJ, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and an expert in structure/function analysis of signaling transduction proteins, Dr. Stock's lab is performing crystallographic studies with our PPM small molecules and PP2A.