About Us
Overview
Our Mission:
To bring the advantages of small molecule medicines to the unmet needs of hereditary disorders.
A Genetic Disease Focus
We focus on genetic disorders for several reasons.
First, there remains a very high unmet need for therapies in these areas. Many genetic diseases are only treated at the level of symptoms, meaning that the disease continues to progress and patients’ lives are not improved in the long run.
Second, unlike many diseases treated with conventional therapies, for these diseases we know the actual cause of disease, and we know when we’ve developed a treatment that reverses that cause. Therefore, we can be much more certain that patients will benefit when we begin clinical trials.
Third, because we can identify patients through genetic testing, only patients that will benefit from therapy will be given therapy. This makes clinical trials much more likely to succeed. It also lowers costs for the healthcare system because we will not pay to treat those who will not benefit. And most importantly, it turns the diagnosis from bad news into hope.
A Platform that Increase Speed, Lowers Costs and Gives Better Results for Patients
There, we said it: Better, Cheaper, Faster.
Sharp Therapies are Better for Patients
Most hereditary diseases are treated with biologics, i.e. protein drugs or gene-based drugs.
Sharp Therapies (as small molecule drugs) are better for patients because:
1) They are taken orally as a pill rather than by injection, infusion, or by adminstration of a genetic
2) Patients prefer the convenience of filling a prescription at a pharmacy, and taking the medication at home or anywhere without having to plan their lives around injections.
3) Patients do not run the risk of an allergic reaction that may cause them to halt therapy, and could even end them up in the hospital. (contrast protein therapy)
4) Patients prefer not to be treated with medicines that cannot be reversed (contrast gene-therapy)
Sharp Therapies are Better for Providers and the Healthcare System
1) They are less expensive (contrast protein and genetic medicines)
2) Reimbursement is like any other drug in their formulary (contrast gene-based medicines).
Sharp Therapies are “Cheaper” Because They are:
1) Less expensive to discover.
2) Less expensive to manufacture:
2) Less expensive to prove clinically
4) Less expensive to bring to market
Sharp Therapies are Faster
1) We use industrial laboratory automation to dramatically accelerate their discovery
2) We use laboratory disease models that are more predictive of clinical success, and are faster than conventional animal models.
3) Once in clinical testing we learn far earlier in the process that the compound is working, and worthy of continuing (contrast pharma drug development which typically requires lengthy and expensive trials to prove the clinical hypothesis.
4) A therapy for genetic disease is often granted accelerated regulatory review
5) Genetic disease therapies can often gain approval significantly earlier in the review process than conventional therapies.
Leadership
Board of Directors
Scott Sneddon, PhD, JD (CEO & CSO)
Scott holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry & Biophysics from Carnegie-Mellon University, a J.D. from Columbia University Law School and has over 30 years experience in drug discovery, having held leadership positions at Pfizer and Genzyme. At Pfizer Dr. Sneddon was a member of the New Leads Discovery group under Fred Vinick where he was part of a team that pioneered high throughput discovery by applying automation to laboratory work for the first time. He then went to Genzyme with Fred to help establish Genzyme's small molecule drug discovery program. There he led the Assay Development and High Throughput Screening group and was a pioneer in implementing high-throughput functional cellular assays for primary drug screening (before such a thing was fashionable). He has worked as an attorney handling venture financing, licensing and ongoing strategic operation for startup and growth-phase companies in the biotechnology sector. He is also a registered patent attorney licensed to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office.
William R. Newlin, JD (Chairman)
William R. Newlin is Chairman of Newlin Investment Company, which he founded in 2007. He is Chairman of Meritor, Inc. (NYSE:MTOR), a first-tier supplier to the truck and off-road vehicle industry; He is past Chairman of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT), one of the world's leading producers of cutting tools and wear-resistant parts; Mr. Newlin was a Director of Calgon Carbon Corporation(NYSE:CCC), a global leader in services and solutions for cleaner and safer air and water. He is Chairman of Sharp Edge Labs, Xibus Systems and a number of other private companies.
A seasoned executive and entrepreneur, Mr. Newlin was the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS), a full-line sports and fitness retailer with more than 800 stores; and prior to that was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Buchanan Ingersoll, one of the 100 largest law firms in the U.S. Mr. Newlin was also Co-Founder of CEO Venture Funds, Founding Director of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and a Director of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. In 2013, the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association recognized Bill with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named Bill Newlin one of the 50 top business leaders in the city. Pittsburgh Magazine named him in 1999 among the "Most Influential Pittsburghers of the Century." The National Law Journal twice recognized him as one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers of America."
Mr. Newlin graduated from Princeton University and obtained his JD degree from the University of Pittsburgh Law School. He has received the University of Pittsburgh Law School's distinguished alumni award and was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration degree from Robert Morris University.
John Hathaway
Mr. Hathaway manages the General Partner for Biotech Growth Partners, LP, one of SEL's largest investors, is the founder of Pittsburgh based private equity firm Primerock Capital and Managing Partner at Topanga Partners. Primerock invests its own capital in various private equity sectors, and through its affiliates manages multiple private funds and companies. Topanga was an early investor in Sharp Edge. Mr. Hathaway has more than 25 years of experience in asset management, capital structure and formation, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing, and finance. Early in his career, he personally managed over $1 Billion of retail client assets for several wall street banks. Subsequently on the private equity side, Mr. Hathaway has led hundreds of transactions, including in the real estate, manufacturing, technology, and financial sectors. He serves on the boards of multiple privately held companies and maintains a large network of partners and co-investors. Mr. Hathaway holds a degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dietrich Stephan, PhD
Dr. Stephan is an industry veteran having had careers in both academia and in industry. Stephan served as Deputy Director for Discovery Research and chair of the neurogenomics division at TGen, and served as professor and chairman of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh/UPMC. Dr. Stephan has identified the molecular basis of dozens of rare and common diseases. Stephan has founded or co-founded 14 biotechnology companies to bring novel innovations to market with a focus on molecular diagnostics and first-in-class therapeutics. Stephan co-founded Navigenics, Inc. (a pioneer in direct-to consumer genomic testing), was founding Chairman of the Board of Pendulum, Inc. (microbiome modulating therapies), was an early advisor to Guardant Health, Inc. (liquid biopsy), is founding Chairman of the Board Peptilogics, Inc. (deep machine learning to develop peptide therapies), was part of the team that developed Genia Technology, Inc.'s single molecule electrical detection DNA sequencing platform acquired by Roche, and others. Dr. Stephan was founder, CEO and Chairman of Neubase, a company developing a new class of precision genetic medicines which can be designed to increase, decrease, or change gene function, as appropriate, to resolve genetic defects that drive disease. Dr. Stephan received his B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University, his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and did his fellowship at NHGRI/NIH.
John L. Brooks, III, CPA
John L. Brooks III is the Managing Director of Healthcare Capital LLC, which advises early-stage life sciences companies. Healthcare Capital specializes in advancing disruptive and innovative solutions in healthcare, especially in obesity, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center, a Boston based diabetes research, clinical care, and education organization. He has co-founded seven life sciences companies, including Insulet (PODD), a disruptive insulin delivery company. He was a co-founder of Prism Venture Partners, a $1.25B venture capital firm. Prior to that, Mr. Brooks was a senior medical device executive at Pfizer, and a senior manager at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Boston, MA, where he focused on early-stage companies. A native of Massachusetts, he holds an M.S. in Business Administration and a B.B.A. cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and he is a Certified Public Accountant.
Lorne Sugarman, MBA
Mr. Sugarman is an experienced business professional with over 25 years expertise in capital markets, technology and healthcare. From April 2021 to October 2023, Mr. Sugarman served as the Chief Executive Officer of Metaverse Group Inc., a leading virtual real estate company, facilitating the acquisition of virtual property and providing a suite of services that are powered by blockchain and NFT-powered Metaverses and also served as the President of its largest shareholder, Tokens.com (July 2023 – January 2024), a technology company focused on decentralized exchanges. Previously, Mr. Sugarman was a principal with KES7 Capital Inc., a Toronto-based merchant bank from (October 2017 - July 2021). Previously, he served in various senior capacities, including Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, of Wellpoint Health Services Corp. (February 2012 – March 2021), a technology enabled Health Services Business where he was instrumental in growing the business to over 250 employees and raising in excess of $20 million of debt and equity and completed and integrated seven acquisitions. Previous to Wellpoint, Mr. Sugarman was the Managing Director, Investment Banking at GMP Securities Ltd. (now Richardson GMP Limited) (November 1997 – February 2012), one of Canada's largest independent investment banks, where he also served as a member of the firm's operating committee and board observer for Edgestone Capital Partners, GMP's private equity subsidiary. Mr. Sugarman has experience in a broad range of corporate finance transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and public and private financings for many of Canada's leading non-resource companies. Mr. Sugarman began his career with Deloitte & Touche (now Deloittes LLP) as an audit practitioner and subsequently worked with Deloitte Consulting providing strategic advice to international clients in both Canada and the United States. Mr. Sugarman holds an MBA from University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Western Ontario and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.