Founded in 2017, Aether Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company based in Austin, Texas. The Aether team combines a wealth of successful drug development experience with a leading researcher at The Ohio State University. Aether Therapeutics is developing a new class of therapeutics to prevent neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in mothers abusing opioids and to cure withdrawal, for which there is currently no cure. Our compound 6BMX, a main metabolite of the FDA-approved naltrexone, is a highly potent, orally available, peripherally selective neutral opioid antagonist with a high safety profile. In an eIND study our results showed good pharmacological properties even after a first dose of antagonist in highly dependent methadone patients. Aether is raising $6 million toward the initiation of Phase I/II trials.
Aether Collaborates with Ohio Neonatal Consortium
July 22, 2018
Aether Therapeutics has partnered with Ohio's three Neonatal Research Centers as part of a collaborative clinical developmental effort, which will ensure the ability to recruit patients under excellent resource conditions including facilities, key subject matter experts, clinical protocols, and standardized treatment protocols developed by the OPQC. Ohio has been one of the hardest hit states by the opioid epidemic, but has also been a leading state in the development of standard of care for treating babies exposed to opioids.
Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative
Our collaborator, Dr. M.C. Walsh, lead of the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative of all main level 2 and 3 NICUs in Ohio, has demonstrated that standardized care of NOWS babies reduces length of opioid exposure and hospital stay using standardized scoring of NOWS triggers for initiation of treatment and a stringent weaning
About 6BMX
6BMX is a first-in-class treatment strategy and the first drug of its kind to focus on treatment and prevention of NAS during the pregnancy and has the additional benefit of working with existing treatment practices of maintenance therapy.
About Aether
Aether Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company based in Austin, Texas. The Aether team combines a wealth of successful drug development experience with a leading researcher at The Ohio State University.
Rick Hawkins, Chairman, is a career life sciences entrepreneur and has considerable experience in managing nascent companies, drug development, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology research. He has founded over 10 biotech and medical device companies and is a master at bringing them to a successful exit.
Brian Cummings, President and COO of Aether Therapeutics, has started dozens of technology companies and headed technology commercialization offices at The University of Texas, The Ohio State University, and University of Utah, and brings his extensive commercialization and venture capital experience as a current team member at Alta Ventures. Brian also founded Technium, an intellectual property marketplace that uses deep technology solutions and analytics to identify and maximize the commercial value of deep technologies; Technium analyzed the IP space for NAS treatment and Dr. Sadee’s research scored off the charts, which led to the quick assembly of this team to seize this unique technological opportunity.
Dr. Wolfgang Sadee, Inventor and CSO, is the Felts Mercer Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Chair, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, and Director, Center for Pharmacogenomics, at the Ohio State Medical Center and Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Sadee’s research focuses on pharmacogenomics of drug response and toxicity, leading the XGEN group at OSU Dr. Sadee has published over 300 research papers and monographs.