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Northwestern Startup: Akava Therapeutics
Founded: 2019
Northwestern Inventor:
Richard Silverman
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Chemistry and Department of Molecular Biosciences
Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Pharmacology
AKAVA Therapeutics is developing first-in-class small molecule therapeutics that inhibit enzymes, inhibit cancer, and inhibit protein...
Published: 5/13/2026
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Updated: 5/13/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Neurodegenerative disease, Neurology, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Epigenetic Gene Editing in Cardiomyopathy to Improve Heart Function
SHORT DESCRIPTION
A precision cardiac gene‑regulation platform that deletes a MYH7 enhancer to shift ventricular myosin isoform balance toward faster α‑MHC and activates upstream MYH6 enhancers to increase MYH6 expression and improve contractility, creating a dual toolkit for disease‑modifying therapy in cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
INVENTORS
Elizabeth...
Published: 5/15/2026
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Updated: 5/12/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Cardiology and Cardiovascular disease, Cardiomyopathy, Gene therapy, Regenerative medicine, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Targeted Nanoparticle-Mediated HIF Stabilization in Myeloid Cells for Enhanced Transplant Tolerance
SHORT DESCRIPTION
A PEG-PPS nanoparticle technology for targeted delivery of roxadustat to myeloid cells to promote transplantation tolerance.
INVENTORS
Edward Thorp*
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Pathology
Evan Scott*
McCormick School of Engineering, Department...
Published: 5/7/2026
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Updated: 5/7/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Drug delivery, Immunotherapy, Nanoparticle, Therapeutics, Tolerance induction, Transplantation
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Targeting Autoimmunity-Associated T cells via AHR Pathway Control
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Use of AHR agonists to inhibit pathogenic Tfh/Tph cell differentiation, potentially reducing disease activity.
INVENTORS
Jaehyuk Choi*
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology **(Now at UT Southwestern)**
Deepak Rao
Brigham and Women's...
Published: 5/7/2026
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Updated: 5/7/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Autoimmune disease, Immunology, Immunotherapy, Inflammation, RA - Rheumatoid arthritis, SLE - Systemic lupus erythematosus, Small molecule, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Antisense Oligonucleotides to Prevent Genetic Mis-Splicing for ALS/FTD Therapeutics
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that correct TDP‑43–dependent mis‑splicing of KCNQ2 thereby reducing neuronal hyperexcitability in ALS/FTD and related TDP‑43 proteinopathies.
INVENTORS
Evangelos Kiskinis*
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Neurology
Jonathan...
Published: 5/12/2026
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Updated: 5/7/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, FTD - Frontotemporal Dementia, Neurodegenerative disease, Neurologic disease, Neurology, Nucleic Acids, Rare diseases, Targeted therapy, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Incomplete Autophagy Induction for the Treatment of Cancer
SHORT DESCRIPTION
This incomplete autophagy inducer triggers caspase-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells by inducing incomplete autophagy, leading to tumor reduction and improved survival.
INVENTORS
INVENTORS
Maciej Lesniak*
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery
Jawad...
Published: 5/13/2026
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Updated: 5/7/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Autophagy, Brain cancer, Breast cancer, Cancer/Oncology, Lung cancer, Melanoma, Repurposed Drugs, Small molecule, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Once-Weekly Glucocorticoid Steroid Dosing for Enhanced Muscle Function and Metabolic Health
SHORT DESCRIPTION
A glucocorticoid regimen that preserves the benefits of steroids on muscle mass and function while mitigating many of the metabolic and growth‑related toxicities seen with daily dosing in various inflammatory, autoimmune, respiratory, and neuromuscular disease settings.
INVENTORS
Elizabeth McNally*, MD, PhD
Northwestern...
Published: 5/11/2026
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Updated: 5/7/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Aging, DMD - Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Immunology, Inflammation, Metabolic disorders, Muscle metabolism, Rare diseases, Small molecule, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Northwestern Startup: Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Founded: 1996
Northwestern Inventor:
William Klein
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
Grant Krafft
Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry
Acumen Pharmaceuticals develops therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) based upon the discovery and characterization...
Published: 5/7/2026
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Updated: 5/7/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Antibody, Neurodegenerative disease, Neurologic disease, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics, Life Sciences > Healthcare Devices, Tools & IT
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Northwestern Startup: Syenex, Inc.
Northwestern Inventor:
Joshua Leonard
McCormick School of Engineering
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Syenex builds bioengineering technologies to unlock the future of human health. Leveraging the power of synthetic biology, we design scalable, precision-engineered components, empowering cell and gene therapy developers to cure disease and build...
Published: 5/5/2026
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Updated: 5/5/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Biologic, Biomedical, Drug delivery, Gene therapy, Platform technology, Research tool, Startup with Northwestern IP, Synthetic biology, Therapeutics, Vector/Plasmid
Category(s): Life Sciences > Biomarkers & Biomedical Research Tools, Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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Northwestern Startup: Yobee Care, Inc.
Founded: 2018
Northwestern Inventor:
Dr. Ruchi Gupta
Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Pediatrics and Medicine
Yobee's mission is to revolutionize scalp, hair, and skin care by helping consumers rebalance their microbiome and eliminating the need for chemical-laden products. Utilizing PROBYOME , our patented blend of probiotic extracts,...
Published: 5/5/2026
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Updated: 5/5/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Dermatology, Hair care, Scalp care, Skin care, Startup with Northwestern IP, Therapeutics
Category(s): Life Sciences > Therapeutics
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