Purdue Research Park-based Life Sciences Firm Receives $300,000 NIH Grant

Tymora Analytical Operations LLC, a Purdue Research Park-based company, received the SBIR Phase I grant to optimize and strengthen its PolyMAC product. The technology promotes the discovery of new disease targets in laboratory settings. It is based on research by W. Andy Tao, associate professor in Purdue's Department of Biochemistry. The company licensed the technology through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization.

Anton Iliuk, president and chief technology officer, said PolyMAC could help determine whether a potential drug in development is focused on the intended disease targets. He described how the NIH funding will benefit Tymora Analytical Operations' efforts.

"Products currently available on the market typically see only the tip of the iceberg of a disease," he said. "PolyMAC technology allows a researcher to dive deeper into the complicated disease network to find the most optimal and promising treatment targets."

Iliuk said the company's focus is to strengthen efforts in university and industrial laboratories to find more effective, efficient drug treatment candidates for cancer, immunological and infectious illnesses, and diabetes.

Tymora Analytical Operations received a $150,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the NIH to develop an application for its pIMAGO platform earlier in 2012. It also received a $150,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation in 2011, and $20,000 from the Purdue-administered Emerging Innovations Fund in 2012.