Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Kim Perley Professor of Medical Science Justin Fallon

Justin Fallon, professor of medical science, began researching Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 1985 and currently heads a lab developing a treatment for the disorder. But with the help of a Brown alum's business and medical expertise, that treatment could be in pharmacies within five to seven years.

Along with his lab, Fallon has developed a drug called Biglycan, which stimulates the cells affected by DMD, forcing them to continue producing an important protein people normally lose around the age of four or five.

While Biglycan has proven successful in diminishing muscle degeneration in lab mice, making it available for human use requires "a complicated, expensive process with many demands," Fallon said.

The drug needs to undergo rounds of testing to ensure its safety before it receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Biglycan must be produced in "highly controlled conditions" outside of his lab space to ensure its safety, Fallon said. By the end of last spring, Fallon had reached a roadblock, putting further development of Biglycan "beyond the expertise and capabilities of (his) lab."

When Fallon was asked in June to give physician John Nicholson '72 a tour of the new Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences, he explained his research and Nicholson agreed to return to Brown to look further into the project.

"I appreciated his passion for it more than anything else, his intellect and his passion," Nicholson said. The two formed Tivorsan Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to further development of the Biglycan treatment.

"The whole purpose of the company was to surround this incredible protein scientist with a network of necessary scientists and regulatory people and organizational people… to get this one-man band playing in an orchestra," Nicholson said.

"John has an extensive network of people who are on the development and business side, which is what we needed," Fallon said.

Help from "finance types and other operational people" has garnered more support for Tivorsan's work on Biglycan by bringing in business development expertise, drawing investors and forming a successful company, he added.

"Together we've built a team, and we've gotten support from patient advocacy groups, which are very committed to getting this therapy done," Fallon said.

Continued...

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