Jason G. Fewell

Valentis lead drug candidate, Deltavasc, may treat peripheral arterial and ischemic heart disease with a gene that spurs new blood vessels to form (a process known as angiogenesis). In early stages of development are DNA vaccines for HIV, hepatitis C, and other viral infections. Another drug candidate, eNOS, could prevent tissue rejection in transplant recipients. The company licenses its technology -- include the GeneSwitch platform, which can turn off or on gene therapies -- to other drugmakers. These licensees include Genzyme, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline.

Egen, Inc. operates as a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company which develops novel proprietary nanoparticle delivery technology for therapeutic use. Egen's technology platform is very broad, including polymer, cationic lipid, and molecular biology-based approaches to delivery of nucleic acid and anti-cancer drugs. The primary activities of the company are the application of the TheraPlas and TheraSilence platforms to the treatment of human disease. Egen's lead candidate, EGEN-001, is in Phase II clinical testing for ovarian cancer and in Phase I clinical testing for colorectal cancer. In addition, Egen is pursuing pre-clinical development of its TheraSilence RNAi delivery program for multiple disease applications, as well as other novel disruptive technologies focused on creating the next generation of synthetic nanoparticle delivery systems and nucleic acid-based therapies. It is also active in pursuing partnerships and working with external collaborators to further develop its delivery technology for multiple applications. Egen offers cutting-edge research services relating to non-viral polymeric gene carrier systems, and other approaches for the delivery of nucleic acid and anti-cancer drugs. The company's synthetic biocompatible delivery vehicles can be used to deliver therapeutic genes, inhibitory RNA (RNAi), and small molecules by protecting the therapeutic cargo from degradation, promoting uptake by target cells, and facilitating intracellular trafficking. Egen was founded in 2002 by Sung Wan Kim and is headquartered in Huntsville, AL.