Mount Sinai Innovation Partners Announces Inventor of the Year and Deal of the Year 2019
October 17, 2019At the Innovation Awards Ceremony on October 14, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP) presented the award for Inventor of the Year to Edward Schuchman, PhD, and Calogera (Lilla) Simonaro, PhD, and Deal of the Year to the RenalytixAI team at Mount Sinai: Barbara Murphy, MD, Steven Coca, DO, and Girish Nadkarni, MD. The awards recognize exceptional Mount Sinai innovators for their efforts in breakthrough discoveries and standout partnerships with industry.
Drs. Schuchman and Simonaro were awarded $10,000 for their discovery of the drug pentosan polysulfate (PPS) for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS), a lysosomal storage disease caused by genetic defects that affect the skeletal system, skin, heart, brain, and other organ systems and can lead to disability or death. The innovation led to exclusive licenses with Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd. and ReqMed Company, Ltd. for further development.
“Without the support of the [patient] families, this would not have happened. We need to thank them, because this is what we’ve worked for,” said Simonaro.
RenalytixAI received Deal of the Year, an award that recognizes a notable Mount Sinai technology that represents a major breakthrough in research and a strong commercial partnership for advancement.
RenalytixAI is creating clinical prognostics and diagnostics for the progression of renal disease and the onset of transplant rejection or fibrosis, using artificial intelligence deployed against Mount Sinai’s BioMeTM BioBank database. Through the research of Drs. Murphy, Coca, and Nadkarni and collaboration with MSIP, the company raised nearly $50 million on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM) Exchange, including through an initial public offering (IPO) in 2018. Less than one year after its launch, RenalytixAI’s initial product, KidneyIntelX, received Breakthrough Device designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“It’s an exciting time to be working on [kidney disease] – it’s a common disease that is often unrecognized and underappreciated, but costs so much in terms of quality of life, poor outcomes, and costs to the healthcare system,” said Coca. “My goals have always been to change the way we perform clinical trials and the way we care for patients, and the deal with RenalytixAI had made it all come to fruition much sooner than I could ever have dreamed.”
The awards were presented by Erik Lium, PhD, Executive Vice President, MSIP.
“We’re proud to honor and celebrate the important accomplishments of these inventors, as we work together to advance these technologies to help patients on a global scale,” said Lium.
Take a look at the award recipient’s acceptance speeches:
Inventor of the Year:
- Edward Schuchman, PhD, Francis Crick Chair in Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Calogera (Lilla) Simonaro, PhD, Research Professor, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Deal of the Year: RenalytixAI
- Barbara Murphy, MD, Dean for Clinical Integration and Population Health, Professor and System Chair, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System
- Steven Coca, DO, Associate Professor, Medicine, Nephrology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Girish Nadkarni, MD, Associate Professor, Medicine, Nephrology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai