Dr. Miles presented Sano Chemicals' new first-in-class antifungal drug Occidiofungin - The Fungus KillerTM at the Biotech Showcase 2024 in San Francisco. 

Dr. Smith presented a talk  titled: "Preclinical Development of a First-In-Class Antifungal, Occidiofungin, for the Treatment of Serious Fungal Infections". https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/10789/session/317

FDA grants Qualified Infectious Disease Product and Fast-track designation for OCF001 drug product for the treatment of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC)

FDA IND application (IND 160729) titled, “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Single Ascending Dose and Multiple Ascending Dose Study of OCF001 Intravaginal Gel Administered to Healthy Female Subjects” received permission to proceed with Phase 1 clinical testing.

Geng M, Hansanant N, Lu SE, Lockless SW, Shin R, Orugunty R, Smith L. Synthesis and characterization of semisynthetic analogs of the antifungal occidiofungin. Front Microbiol. 2022 Dec 13;13:1056453. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1056453. PMID: 36583054; PMCID: PMC9792986.

Hansanant N, Smith L. Occidiofungin: Actin Binding as a Novel Mechanism of Action in an Antifungal Agent. Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Aug 23;11(9):1143. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11091143. PMID: 36139923; PMCID: PMC9494966.

The Texas A&M Innovation Partners write an article about Sano Chemicals and its history, including the close relationship it shares with the Smith laboratory at Texas A&M. Read the full article here: 

https://tamuip.tamu.edu/new-ventures-spotlight-sano-chemicals/

Sano Chemicals is invited to the Angel Capital Association annual investing event. This event connects angel investors with new companies and entrepreneurs seeking financial support. The ACA is the largest angel investor organization in the world and invitations to the summit are scarce. Sano is looking forward to the potential for new partners and business opportunities. 

James Smith (CEO), Ravi Orugunty (VP of product Development), and A. Riley Buhrow (Director of Operations) publish manuscript: Foxfire A, Buhrow AR, Orugunty RS, Smith L. Drug discovery through the isolation of natural products from Burkholderia. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2021 Jan 29:1-16. doi: 10.1080/17460441.2021.1877655. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33467922.

David Goodstein joins Sano Chemicals team as Chief Financial Officer

James Smith (CEO), Frank Austin (Co-Founder) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Ravichandran A, Escano J, Lee JH, Ross MK, Austin F, Orugunty R, Lu SE, Smith L. Formulation, Pharmacological Evaluation, and Efficacy Studies of Occidiofungin, a Novel Antifungal. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020 Nov 17;64(12):e01737-20. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01737-20. PMID: 32958713; PMCID: PMC7674058.

Sano Chemicals receives research award from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID-NIH). “A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR THE TREATMENT OF GRAM-POSITIVE INFECTIONS” Total Funding: $233.1K

Sano Chemicals selected to be MassChallenge cohort.  (https://masschallenge.org/announcement/masschallenge-texas-in-austin-announces-2020- cohort)

James Smith (CEO), Ravi Orugunty (VP of Product Development) and Andrew Cothrell (Intern)  accepted in SWICORPS Summer 2020 Regional Workshops, NSF Southwest I-CorpsTM Node.

James Smith (CEO) and Ravi Orugunty (VP of Product Development) pitch to the Mass Challenge program.

James Smith (CEO), Ravi Orugunty (VP of Product Development), and Josh Jeanson (CBO) attend NIH-Commercialization Accelerator Program FeedForward™ Session Washington, DC.

George Atiee joins Sano Chemicals team as Chief Medical Officer

Ravi Orugunty and Josh Jeanson attend NIH-Commercialization Accelerator Program Commercialization Training Workshop (CTW) in Los Angeles, CA.

James Smith (CEO) participates in an SBIR/STTR panel hosted by the School of Innovation, Memorial Student Center, College Station (October 29, 2019)

Sano Chemicals selected for the 2019-20 NIH-Commercialization Accelerator Program.

Ravi Orugunty joins Sano Chemicals team as Vice President of Product Development.

James Smith (CEO) presents at the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology (VTPP) in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, College Station. Title: Occidiofungin & Other Natural Products as Novel Pharmacologic.

James Smith (CEO) presents at Texas New Venture Challenge Keynote & Panel – Commercialization at Texas A&M, Kyle Field, College Station

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Ravichandran A, Geng M, Hull KG, Li J, Romo D, Lu SE, Albee A, Nutter C, Gordon DM, Ghannoum MA, Lockless SW, Smith L. A Novel Actin Binding Drug with In Vivo Efficacy. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018 Dec 21;63(1):e01585-18. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01585-18. PMID: 30323040; PMCID: PMC6325233.

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Geng M, Deng P, Mire T, Austin F, Smith L. Draft Genome Sequence of the Lantibiotic-Producing Strain Streptococcus salivarius HS0302. Microbiol Resour Announc. 2019 Jan 3;8(1):e01410-18. doi: 10.1128/MRA.01410-18. PMID: 30637392; PMCID: PMC6318363.

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Geng M, Ravichandran A, Escano J, Smith L. Efficacious Analogs of the Lantibiotic Mutacin 1140 against a Systemic Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018 Nov 26;62(12):e01626-18. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01626-18. PMID: 30275083; PMCID: PMC6256755.

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Geng M, Smith L. Modifying the Lantibiotic Mutacin 1140 for Increased Yield, Activity, and Stability. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2018 Jul 17;84(15):e00830-18. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00830-18. PMID: 29776930; PMCID: PMC6052277.

Sano Chemicals enter license agreement with Indigo Ag for development of antifungal technology for agricultural products.

Sano Chemicals receives research award from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID-NIH). “PRECLINICAL DEVELOPMENT OF OCF001 FOR TREATMENT OF YEAST INFECTIONS” Total Funding: $2.9 M

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Geng M, Austin F, Shin R, Smith L. Covalent Structure and Bioactivity of the Type AII Lantibiotic Salivaricin A2. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2018 Feb 14;84(5):e02528-17. doi: 10.1128/AEM.02528-17. PMID: 29269497; PMCID: PMC5812933.

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Geng M, Smith L. Improving the attrition rate of Lanthipeptide discovery for commercial applications. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2018 Feb;13(2):155-167. doi: 10.1080/17460441.2018.1410137. Epub 2017 Dec 1. PMID: 29195488.

John Ferreira joins Sano Chemicals team as Vice President of Quality Operations

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Escano J, Ravichandran A, Salamat B, Smith L. Carboxyl Analogue of Mutacin 1140, a Scaffold for Lead Antibacterial Discovery. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2017 Jun 30;83(14):e00668-17. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00668-17. PMID: 28500042; PMCID: PMC5494638.

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Deng P, Foxfire A, Xu J, Baird SM, Jia J, Delgado KH, Shin R, Smith L, Lu SE. The Siderophore Product Ornibactin Is Required for the Bactericidal Activity of Burkholderia contaminans MS14. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2017 Mar 31;83(8):e00051-17. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00051-17. PMID: 28188204; PMCID: PMC5377494.

Sano Chemicals receives research award from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID-NIH). “LEAD COMPOUND DISCOVERY FROM ENGINEERED ANALOGS OF OCCIDIOFUNGIN” Total Funding: $224.9K

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Escano J, Deng P, Lu SE, Smith L. Draft Genome Sequence of Oral Bacterium Streptococcus mutans JH1140. Genome Announc. 2016 Jun 2;4(3):e00472-16.  doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00472-16. PMID: 27257196; PMCID: PMC4891642.

Sano Chemicals receives research award from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID-NIH). “OPTIMIZATION OF THE PRODUCTION AND ISOLATION OF THE NOVEL ANTIFUNGAL OCCIDIOFUNGIN” Total Funding: $529.6k

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Deng P, Wang X, Baird SM, Showmaker KC, Smith L, Peterson DG, Lu S. Comparative genome-wide analysis reveals that Burkholderia contaminans MS14 possesses multiple antimicrobial biosynthesis genes but not major genetic loci required for pathogenesis. Microbiologyopen. 2016 Jun;5(3):353-69. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.333. Epub 2016 Jan 14. PMID: 226769582; PMCID: PMC4905989.

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Wang XQ, Liu AX, Guerrero A, Liu J, Yu XQ, Deng P, Ma L, Baird SM, Smith L, Li XD, Lu SE. Occidiofungin is an important component responsible for the antifungal activity of Burkholderia pyrrocinia strain Lyc2. J Appl Microbiol. 2016 Mar;120(3):607-18. doi: 10.1111/jam.13036. PMID: 26910858.

Sano receives prize money from Texas New Venture Competition. Total Funding: $10K

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Escano J, Smith L. Multipronged approach for engineering novel peptide analogues of existing lantibiotics. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2015;10(8):857-70. doi: 10.1517/17460441.2015.1049527. Epub 2015 May 23. PMID: 26004576.

Sano Chemicals Inc establishes its first research laboratory in Bryan Texas

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Escano J, Stauffer B, Brennan J, Bullock M, Smith L. Biosynthesis and transport of the lantibiotic mutacin 1140 produced by Streptococcus mutans. J Bacteriol. 2015 Apr;197(7):1173-84. doi: 10.1128/JB.02531-14. Epub 2015 Jan 20. PMID: 25605307; PMCID: PMC4352662.

James Smith (CEO) was an invited speaker at Texas Branch American Society for Microbiology in Houston. Presentation: Probing for the target and mechanism of action of the novel antifungal occidiofungin.

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Escano J, Stauffer B, Brennan J, Bullock M, Smith L. The leader peptide of mutacin 1140 has distinct structural components compared to related class I lantibiotics. Microbiologyopen. 2014 Dec;3(6):961-72. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.222. Epub 2014 Nov 17. PMID: 25400246; PMCID: PMC4263518.

James Smith (CEO) and Frank Austin (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Lai Hing S, Ravichandran A, Escano J, Cooley J, Austin F, Smith L. Toxicological Evaluation of Occidiofungin against Mice and Human Cancer Cell Lines. Pharmacology & Pharmacy, 5, 1085-1093. (2014). 2014 October; 5:1085-1093.

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder)publish manuscript: Chen KC, Ravichandran A, Guerrero A, Deng P, Baird SM, Smith L, Lu SE. The Burkholderia contaminans MS14 ocfC gene encodes a xylosyltransferase for production of the antifungal occidiofungin. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013 May;79(9):2899-905. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00263-13. Epub 2013 Feb 22. PMID: 23435879; PMCID: PMC3623131.

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Emrick D, Ravichandran A, Gosai J, Lu S, Gordon DM, Smith L. The antifungal occidiofungin triggers an apoptotic mechanism of cell death in yeast. J Nat Prod. 2013 May 24;76(5):829-38. doi: 10.1021/np300678e. Epub 2013 May 14. PMID: 23672235.

James Smith (CEO) publishes manuscript: Chen S, Wilson-Stanford S, Cromwell W, Hillman JD, Guerrero A, Allen CA, Sorg JA, Smith L. Site-directed mutations in the lanthipeptide mutacin 1140. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013 Jul;79(13):4015-23. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00704-13. Epub 2013 Apr 19. PMID: 23603688; PMCID: PMC3697549.

Josh Jeanson joins Sano Chemicals as the Chief Business Officer

James Smith (CEO) was an invited speaker at Texas Life Science Venture Forum at Rice University.

James Smith (CEO) and Shien Lu (Co-Founder) publish manuscript: Ravichandran A, Gu G, Escano J, Lu SE, Smith L. The presence of two cyclase thioesterases expands the conformational freedom of the cyclic Peptide occidiofungin. J Nat Prod. 2013 Feb 22;76(2):150-6. doi: 10.1021/np3005503. Epub 2013 Feb 8. PMID: 23394257; PMCID: PMC4142711.

Ravichandran A, Gu G, Escano J, Lu S, and Smith L. Served with a twist, Nature Chemical Biology 9:215 (2013) Research Highlight-Biosynthesis.

James Smith (CEO), Frank Austin (Co-Founder), and Steve Pruett (Member) publish manuscript: Tan W, Cooley J, Austin F, Lu SE, Pruett SB, Smith L. Nonclinical toxicological evaluation of occidiofungin, a unique glycolipopeptide antifungal. Int J Toxicol. 2012 Jul-Aug;31(4):326-36. doi: 10.1177/1091581812445185. Epub 2012 Jun 11. PMID: 22689636.

Bridging the Gap: Early Translational Research Awards, Cancer Research Institute of Texas awards Dr. Smith and Texas A&M University $777,000 to promote the commercialization of a novel antifungal agent. (https://www.cprit.texas.gov/grants-funded/grants/rp121002)

James Smith (CEO), Frank Austin (Co-Founder), and Shien Lu (Co-Founder)  publish manuscript: Ellis D, Gosai J, Emrick C, Heintz R, Romans L, Gordon D, Lu SE, Austin F, Smith L. Occidiofungin's chemical stability and in vitro potency against Candida species. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2012 Feb;56(2):765-9. doi: 10.1128/AAC.05231-11. Epub 2011 Nov 21. PMID: 22106210; PMCID: PMC3264235.

James Smith (CEO) was an invited speaker, TAMHC Cancer Research Colloquium, Drug Discovery Breakout session.

James Smith was an invited speaker at College of Science, Dean's Student Advisory Panel on March 29, 2012.

Sano Chemicals is founded in College Station, Texas