• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • COVID-19
  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain
    • Mobile Health
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage
  • Life Sciences
  • Research

UPMC Launches Drug Discovery Company Novasenta to Develop Targeted Immunotherapy Drugs for Cancer

by Fred Pennic 08/23/2021 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print
UPMC Launches Drug Discovery Company Novasenta to Develop Targeted Immunotherapy Drugs for Cancer
Mani Mohindru, Ph.D.,Chief Executive Officer, Novasent

What You Should Know:

– UPMC today announced the launch of Novasenta, a drug discovery and development company seeking novel and effective treatments for cancer.  Co-founded in late 2018 by Robert Ferris, M.D., Ph.D., Dario Vignali, Ph.D., and Greg Delgoffe, Ph.D., all of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and Pitt, Novasenta is currently focused on T-cell targets and rapidly advancing programs with the goal of launching its first clinical trial by the end of 2023.

– Based on years of cancer research by renowned University of Pittsburgh scientists and a machine-learning-enabled platform that drives the discovery of potential drug targets, Novasenta focuses on the tumor microenvironment – or the ecosystem that surrounds and constantly interacts with the tumor inside the body – to develop immunotherapies.  

$20M in Seed Funding Backed by UPMC Enterprises

As part of the launch, UPMC has invested $20M in seed funding to Novasenta through the health system’s innovation and venture capital arm, UPMC Enterprises. Novasenta is one of three local life science startups incubated by UPMC Enterprises in collaboration with Pitt over the last four years and is adding to a growing number of preclinical development programs this partnership is rapidly advancing. Today, the company is celebrating the opening of its new office and laboratory space at The Riviera in Pittsburgh’s South Oakland neighborhood, part of a growing hub of biomedical activity in the city.

Exploiting the interplay between disease, immunity, and metabolism to cure cancer.

Based on years of cancer research by renowned University of Pittsburgh scientists and a machine-learning-enabled platform that drives the discovery of potential drug targets, Novasenta focuses on the tumor microenvironment – or the ecosystem that surrounds and constantly interacts with the tumor inside the body – to develop immunotherapies. Novasenta’s discovery process is patient-centric with a focus on in-depth analysis of high-quality samples from human tumors. The company comprehensively maps the tumor microenvironment and capitalize on the convergence of biology and computation to discover novel, therapeutically relevant targets.

Through our partnership with UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, Novasenta  has access to high-quality, tumor tissues from patients with a broad range of cancers, allowing them to focus our discovery on diseases with the highest unmet medical need to maximize the patient impact of its work.

“Novasenta has the ability to analyze the tumor microenvironment of a wide variety of cancers due to our strong research and clinical relationships with Pitt and UPMC,” said Mani Mohindru, Ph.D., Novasenta’s recently hired chief executive officer and a veteran biotechnology leader. “This allows us to capitalize on the critical relationship between disease, immune response and metabolism when assessing the tumor microenvironment for the discovery of novel druggable targets, which will help us develop treatments that benefit patients with cancer.”

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tagged With: Biomarker-Guided Drug Development, Cancer Drug Approval, Drug Discovery, Machine Learning

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Knowledge Hub

 How Top Health Plans Use AI to Save Money and Work Smarter How Top Health Plans Use AI to Save Money and Work Smarter

 How to Build Hybrid Care Models Around Remote Patient Monitoring How to Build Hybrid Care Models Around Remote Patient Monitoring

Trending

Metriport Launches Open-Source API to Instantly Pull Medical Records from Any EHR

Metriport Launches Open-Source API to Instantly Pull Medical Records from Any EHR

Nearly Half Of Consumers Report Their Healing has Been Directly Impacted by Difficulty Paying Medical Bills

Consumers Cite Healthcare Affordability as Biggest Concern to Paying Medical Bills

Mayo Clinic, GE HealthCare, Partner on Medical Imaging and Theranostics Innovation

Roundups: 16 Recent Strategic Digital Health Partnerships

How Telehealth Can Combat Clinician Burnout

How Telehealth Can Combat Clinician Burnout

Q/A: DocStation CEO Shares How AI Will Help Pharmacies Use the DIR Fee Changes to Their Advantage

Q/A: DocStation CEO Shares How AI Will Help Pharmacies Use the DIR Fee Changes to Their Advantage

Debunking Myths About Virtual Care to Drive Health Equity

Debunking 3 Myths About Virtual Care to Drive Health Equity

Provider AI Strategy Moves From The IT Dept. To The C-Suite

Notable Launches ChatGPT-Like Assistant for Patients

Notable Launches ChatGPT-Like Assistant for Patients

Intermountain to Replace Cerner with Epic Enterprise EHR by 2025

Intermountain to Replace Cerner with Epic Enterprise EHR by 2025

M&A: PE Firm Acquires NextGen Healthcare EHR for $1.8B

M&A: NextGen Healthcare EHR Acquired by PE Firm for $1.8B

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2023. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |