Ross O. Youngs and Kurt Dieck of Biosortia Pharmaceuticals speak to a forum at CMC

Dublin, Ohio (March 12, 2013) – With up to 20,000 species in a liter of water, the aquatic environment could become the next frontier for drug discovery. What is in the water is earning more respect thanks to a new biotech company in Columbus. Biosortia Pharmaceuticals is in the business of “obtaining the unobtainable and finding medicine from nature to improve life.” Inventor, the scientist, entrepreneur, and founder of Biosortia Pharmaceuticals, Ross O. Youngs, and its president & CEO, Kurt Dieck, shared the story of Biosortia Pharmaceuticals at the March 6, Columbus Metropolitan Club forum.

Biosortia began as a technology development company, Algaeventure Systems, for the emerging algae industry. Algaeventure Systems developed a number of innovative technologies for the aquatic environment, one of which was selected for a merit award from the Department of Energy’s esteemed ARPA-E. Understanding the dynamics of the aquatic environment, Ross Youngs assembled a team of internationally renowned experts from the aquatic and Pharma industries. Together the team has developed and demonstrated the capability to access unique compounds from water that could become the source for new pharmaceutical drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry is a $500+ billion market representing an extraordinary market opportunity. It spends over $100 billion annually on R&D. The problem is current R&D investment not creating value. The number of potential revenue-generating drugs (innovative or otherwise) as a percentage of R&D expenditures has fallen sharply. The estimated cost of a new drug application on average is projected to exceed a staggering $3.3 billion by 2015 and take over 13.5 years. This current negative correlation between R&D investment and resulting marketable drugs is unsustainable. The dynamics of the aquatic environment are extraordinary, there are as many as 20,000 distinct species in a liter of water. Within a short period of time Biosortia has demonstrated its capability of “obtaining previously unobtainable compounds from nature to improve life.” Biosortia’s compounds have been accepted by National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Eli Lilly’s Open Innovation Drug Discovery Program at an 83% and 100% acceptance respectively.

Biosortia has established working relationships with many leaders dedicated to natural products drug discovery. Biosortia’s collaborations include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico’s Center for Global Health, University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Cincinnati.

Biosortia has opened the door to a new frontier of fascinating natural products and potential drug candidates by overcoming the challenges of accessing novel high-quality bioactive compounds from unculturable aquatic microbial consortia. Biosortia’s business model is to monetize its developing library through a highly profitable licensing model.

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About Biosortia Pharmaceuticals – Biosortia Pharmaceuticals Biosortia Pharmaceuticals is a division of Algaeventure Systems (AVS). Biosortia has a proven and unique ability to obtain unculturable aquatic microorganism consortia from the natural environment in unprecedented quantities that allows its research team to perform a direct study of vast quantities of new natural products. Biosortia is actively engaging drug research and development organizations to explore the vast opportunity of unculturable microorganisms for potential therapeutic agents, and other novel compounds of value in biotechnology fields

About The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy – Established in 1885, the College of Pharmacy is one of the oldest colleges at The Ohio State University. The overall mission is to advance pharmaceutical care for the people of Ohio and the global community through our teaching, research, and service. The college offers high-quality programs at the undergraduate, graduate professional, graduate research, and postdoctoral levels. For more information visit pharmacy.osu.edu or on Facebook at facebook.com/osu.Pharmacy

If you’d like more information about the announcement or the company or to schedule an interview with Kurt Dieck, please call David Coho at 614-325-9804 or e-mail David at dc***@*******ia.com or call Emily A. Keller of The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy at 614-292-5887 or ke*******@*su.edu