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News and Articles

08 Jan 2024

BIOTECH SHOWCASE
JP Morgan
The investor conference for innovators

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

17 Jun 2023

ASM Microbe 2023
CTS018. New Agents (AAR)

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

26 Apr 2023

Fast track and Qualified Infectious Disease Designation

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

30 Mar 2023

Investigational New Drug Application Approval

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.

13 Dec 2022

Manuscript

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.

23 Aug 2022

Manuscript

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.

29 Mar 2022

Sano's Story is Published

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/

04 Mar 2022

ACA The Summit of Angel Investing

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. 

29 Jan 2021

Manuscript

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.

01 Dec 2020

New CFO

David Goodstein joins Sano Chemicals team as Chief Financial Officer

17 Nov 2020

Manuscript

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.

12 Aug 2020

Award

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

02 Jun 2020

Sano Joins Mass Challenge

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

26 May 2020

Sano Joins SWICORPS

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.

08 May 2020

Mass Challenge Presentation

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

01 Apr 2020

NIH-Commercialization Program

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

06 Jan 2020

New CMO

George Atiee joins Sano Chemicals team as Chief Medical Officer

13 Nov 2019

NIH-Commercialization Program

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

29 Oct 2019

SBIR/STTR Panel Participant

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

27 Sep 2019

NIH-Commercialization Program

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

01 Jun 2019

New VP of Product Development

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

30 Apr 2019

Presentation

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.

15 May 2019

Presentation

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

01 Jan 2019

Manuscript

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.

01 Jan 2019

Manuscript

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.

26 Nov 2018

Manuscript

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.

01 Aug 2018

Manuscript

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.

25 Jul 2018

License Agreement

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

15 Mar 2018

Award

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

01 Mar 2018

Manuscript

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.

13 Feb 2018

Manuscript

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.

15 Jan 2018

New VP of Quality Operations

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

15 Jul 2017

Manuscript

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.

15 Apr 2017

Manuscript

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.

14 Feb 2017

Award

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

02 Jun 2016

Manuscript

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.

14 Mar 2016

Award

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

14 Jan 2016

Manuscript

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.

21 Dec 2015

Manuscript

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.

03 Jun 2015

Award

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

23 May 2015

Manuscript

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.

15 Apr 2015

Milestone

Sano Chemicals Inc establishes its first research laboratory in Bryan Texas

20 Jan 2015

Manuscript

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.

21 Nov 2014

Presentation

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.

17 Nov 2014

Manuscript

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.

23 Oct 2014

Manuscript

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.

15 May 2013

Manuscript

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.

14 May 2013

Manuscript

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.

15 Apr 2013

Manuscript

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.

15 Mar 2013

New CBO

Josh Jeanson joins Sano Chemicals as the Chief Business Officer

21 Feb 2013

Presentation

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

15 Feb 2013

Manuscript

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.

15 Feb 2013

Manuscript

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

15 Jul 2012

Manuscript

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.

29 Mar 2012

Award

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)

15 Mar 2012

Manuscript

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.

13 Apr 2012

Presentation

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

29 Mar 2012

Presentation

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

01 Mar 2012

Sano's Founding

Sano Chemicals is founded in College Station, Texas

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