Celdara Medical and Global Virus Network Announce Collaboration to Advance Infectious Disease and Viral Infection Research and Development

BALTIMORE and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LEBANON, N.H. and NEW YORK, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Celdara Medical, LLC (Celdara), an experienced biopharma developer focused on launching promising products for the patients who need them most, today announced a new strategic collaboration with the Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of human and animal virologists from 63 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 35 countries. As part of the Pandemic Security Initiative (PanSec) and the mission of the GVN, the two organizations will advance collaborative research on emerging and infectious diseases and fast spreading viral infections by identifying promising diagnostic tools, neutralizing antibodies, vaccines and drugs. An initial strategic focus will be on broad spectrum antivirals.

PanSec is a public-private partnership, striving to ensure preparedness for the next pandemic. Celdara has a robust early stage anti-infectives pipeline and extensive experience in pre-clinical pharmaceutical development which forms the foundation from which the PanSec was launched.

"We are thrilled to work with GVN through our Pandemic Security Initiative, which seeks to deliver on the promise of innovation in universities, government labs and businesses to prepare and protect us from future infectious disease pandemics," said Dr. Jake Reder, Celdara's cofounder and CEO. "The world was caught largely unaware by SARS-CoV-2; however, we believe history need not repeat itself with future viruses and epidemiological threats. One key learning from recent events is that no one institution, country or organization can solve a global disease threat alone. GVN has amassed a worldwide network which brings together the finest medical virologists to address the scientific challenges, issues and problems posed by pandemic viruses. Through the combined expertise of GVN, Celdara and PanSec, we can deliver on the most promising medical innovations and provide clinicians and first responders with powerful new medicines and tests."

The standard drug development model doesn't work for sporadic infectious diseases – without a market to provide returns there can be no private investment. Built on Celdara Medical's successful business model, PanSec seeks to bridge this gap by unleashing innovation for patient and societal benefit by tapping into an existing innovation pipeline that spans the U.S. and beyond. Celdara has partnerships with research universities and institutions across the country and is harnessing their collective expertise as a part of the initiative.

"Our international network of academic virologists regularly generates important discoveries that have the potential to improve pandemic preparedness if they can be quickly and professionally developed. The partnership between the GVN and Celdara Medical will complement GVN's work," said Christian Bréchot, President, GVN and Associate Vice President for International Partnerships and Innovation at University of South Florida (USF), Professor, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters. "Long before COVID appeared on the global stage, viruses caused millions of deaths each year. Since our founding in 2011, GVN's coalition of eminent virologists from around the world have been working to identify and understand viruses, with a long term goal to prevent illness and death. We look forward to continuing our important work in collaboration with PanSec," said Prof. Robert Gallo, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder & Director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Co-Founder & Chairman of the International Scientific Leadership Board of the GVN.

About Celdara Medical
Celdara Medical was founded by Drs. Jake Reder and Michael Fanger in 2008 and is headquartered at the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC) in Lebanon, N.H. Celdara Medical builds academic and early-stage innovations into high-potential medical companies, identifying discoveries of exceptional value at the earliest stages and moving them toward the market. Celdara Medical partners with inventors and their institutions, providing the developmental, financial, and business acumen required to bridge discovery and profitability. With robust funding options, a diverse and high impact Programmatic pipeline, and partnerships with world-class academic institutions and industry leaders, Celdara Medical navigates all aspects of a complex industry, accelerating science to improve human health.

About the Global Virus Network (GVN)
The Global Virus Network (GVN) is essential and critical in the preparedness, defense and first research response to emerging, exiting and unidentified viruses that pose a clear and present threat to public health, working in close coordination with established national and international institutions. It is a coalition comprised of eminent human and animal virologists from 63 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 35 countries worldwide, working collaboratively to train the next generation, advance knowledge about how to identify and diagnose pandemic viruses, mitigate and control how such viruses spread and make us sick, as well as develop drugs, vaccines and treatments to combat them. No single institution in the world has expertise in all viral areas other than the GVN, which brings together the finest medical virologists to leverage their individual expertise and coalesce global teams of specialists on the scientific challenges, issues and problems posed by pandemic viruses. The GVN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit www.gvn.org. Follow us on Twitter @GlobalVirusNews

About The Pandemic Security Initiative
The Pandemic Security Initiative seeks to protect the nation from future pandemics by developing medical countermeasures that integrate the best of ground-breaking science, entrepreneurial innovation, public-sector investment, and private-sector efficiency. With support from the public and private sectors, including the Department of Health and Human Services, its mission is to identify and develop innovative diagnostics, prophylactics, and therapeutics against pandemic scale threats. Celdara Medical initiated this work in 2014 and formalized it under the Pandemic Security Initiative umbrella in early 2020 to capture learnings from and aid in the response to COVID-19. Celdara Medical's Academic Partner Network includes collaborations with over 60 leading universities, and thousands of pipeline innovations from hundreds of universities and research labs spanning all 50 states and dozens of countries. The Pandemic Security Initiative is an entrepreneurial, operating, health-security product developer. For more information on the Pandemic Security Initiative visit www.pansec.org.

SOURCE Celdara Medical