Balu-Iyer receives SUNY investment to increase the success rate of therapeutics

Balu-Iyer.

Published June 29, 2017 This content is archived.

The State University of New York Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) has announced it will invest $50,000 in proprietary platform technology developed by Sathy Balu-Iyer, professor, pharmaceutical sciences.

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The technology has been shown to reduce the ability of biologic drugs to provoke an immune response. It has the potential to treat autoimmune diseases and offers an immune tolerance approach to improving the success of gene therapy. The TAF investment will enable Balu-Iyer’s research team to conduct pre-clinical "proof of concept" studies to demonstrate efficacy in gene therapy, a critical step to meet the scientific requirements of potential partners in the pharmaceutical industry.

“SUNY’s 2017 TAF investments represent the extraordinary diversity of research conducted on SUNY campuses across New York State," said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “As a result of our system’s size and scope, SUNY has an unmatched ability to develop new technologies. Whether it be new approaches to improving wireless communications or rethinking the way we treat cancer and other diseases, SUNY is proud to drive innovation, opportunity, and economic development in partnership with New York State.”

The Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) helps faculty inventors and scientists turn their ideas into market-ready technologies. TAF targets critical research and development milestones – such as feasibility studies, prototyping and testing – which demonstrate that an idea or innovation has commercial potential. Since its launch in 2011, the TAF has invested over $1 million to successfully advance the commercial readiness of 40 SUNY-developed innovations and has catalyzed the investment of an additional $4.4 million from external partners, including federal agencies, industry licensees and angel investors.

For over 130 years, the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) and ranked as one of the top 25 schools of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences in the United States.