Seredigm: UW startup tackles problem of tissue damage caused by inflammatory response

Internationally recognized UW scientists John Harlan and Robert Winn discovered a protein that may lead to a drug treatment for one of the most challenging problems in medicine: preventing damage to tissues when blood flow that was blocked is restored to the body, as can happen in heart attacks or stroke. A major component of the damage is caused by an inflammatory response by the body.

The ability to control this inflammatory reaction has long been a goal of science, but so far there has been no effective treatment for patients. Harlan, professor of hematology, and Winn, professor of surgery and physiology biophysics, investigated the reasons why drugs failed in the clinical trials and sought to develop a new approach. After years of research, they serendipitously discovered that a certain family of proteins was uniquely effective in preventing tissue damage.

"We found that when a certain protein was expressed in only one cell type, it somehow protected other types of cells. There was a protective factor that was being transferred, and we were able to identify the protein that conferred the protection,” said Harlan.

The researchers’ next goal was to found a startup to further research and test the protein as a potential drug candidate. With the help of UW TechTransfer, the new company, Seredigm, became part of Accelerator, a large Seattle-based business development incubator. Accelerator will manage Seredigm and provide funding for additional research from several local venture capital groups. The agreement represents the first time UW TechTransfer has licensed technology to Accelerator, and demonstrates how even a long-term funding need such as drug development can be creatively addressed through relationships with industry and investors.

A drug that could prevent or greatly reduce the inflammatory response would improve the lives of millions of patients with cardiac diseases, stroke, and other inflammatory conditions.

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