Cambridge, MA – September 22, 2014 – Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced
that it has been named by FierceBiotech as one of 2014's Fierce 15 biotechnology
companies, designating it as one of the most promising private biotechnology companies
in the industry. Navitor is developing novel medicines through targeting cellular nutrient
signaling by selectively modulating mTORC1, a fundamental and clinically-validated
pathway which regulates cell growth and function.
"Navitor has zeroed in on a very specific biological pathway with some impressively
broad applications, and the company's technology has the potential to generate novel
treatments for a few of the world's most widespread diseases," says Damian Garde, editor
of FierceBiotech. "That promise was enough to convince some A-list investors, and Navitor
is well on its way to addressing some ambitious goals."
Navitor's proprietary drug discovery platform is designed to develop first-in-class
selective modulators of mTORC1 to address a wide range of diseases, including metabolic,
neurodegenerative, autoimmune and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as several rare
disorders. The company has exclusive access from the Whitehead Institute to fundamental
intellectual property relating to nutrient sensing via the mTORC1 pathway from the
laboratory of David M. Sabatini, MD, PhD, Professor of Biology at MIT, Member of the
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Investigator at the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute. Dr. Sabatini, Navitor's scientific founder, has led groundbreaking
research in the molecular regulation of the mTORC1 pathway, and his discoveries are
seminal contributions to the field of cellular nutrient signaling.
"We are honored to be recognized as one of the innovative companies selected for this
year's FierceBiotech 'Fierce 15'," said George P. Vlasuk, PhD, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Navitor. "We are harnessing newly discovered nutrient signaling mechanisms
of mTORC1 that drive protein synthesis and cellular growth to allow the development of
novel medicines for a wide range of chronic diseases and rare disorders. The prospect of
developing innovative medicines that can significantly impact the lives of patients truly
motivates our experienced team and world-class scientific advisory board, and we look
forward to building our company around Navitor's proprietary technology platform."
The Fierce 15 celebrates the spirit of being "fierce" – championing innovation and
creativity, even in the face of intense competition. This is FierceBiotech's twelfth annual
Fierce 15 selection. A complete list of "Fierce 15" companies can be found online at
www.fiercebiotech.com/fierce15.
Every year FierceBiotech evaluates hundreds of private companies from around the world
for its annual Fierce 15 list, which is based on a variety of factors such as the strength
of its technology, partnerships, venture backers and a competitive market position. An
internationally recognized daily report reaching a network of over 270,000 biotech and
pharma industry professionals, FierceBiotech provides subscribers with an authoritative
analysis of the day's top stories.
About FierceBiotech
FierceBiotech is the biotech industry's daily monitor, an email newsletter and web resource
providing the latest biotech news, articles, and resources related to clinical trials, drug
discovery, FDA approval, FDA regulation, patent news, pharma news, biotech company
news and more. More than 150,000 top biotech professionals rely on FierceBiotech for an
insider briefing on the day's top stories. Signup is free at www.fiercebiotech.com/signup.
About Navitor Pharmaceuticals
Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines
by targeting cellular nutrient signaling pathways. The company's proprietary drug
discovery platform targets mTORC1, which responds to and integrates the cell's response
to nutrient availability and plays a key role in protein synthesis and cellular growth.
Navitor's therapeutics are designed to selectively modulate the cellular signals that
are aberrant in disease processes caused by the dysregulation of mTORC1 activity to
address a wide range of diseases, including metabolic, neurodegenerative, autoimmune
and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as several rare disorders. The company's founding
intellectual property is based on the groundbreaking discoveries related to the mTORC1
pathway and nutrient signaling mechanisms by Dr. David Sabatini at The Whitehead
Institute for Biomedical Research. The company is backed by leading financial and
corporate investors, including Polaris Partners, Atlas Venture, Johnson & Johnson
Development Corporation, SR One and The Longevity Fund. For more information, please
visit www.navitorpharma.com.
CONTACTS:
Rebecca Friend
FierceBiotech
202-824-5050
For Navitor:
Kathryn Morris
The Yates Network
845-635-9828