Transforming the Treatment of Cancer, Metaplasia and Inflammatory Diseases
Our mission is to address significant unmet needs by combining disruptive innovation with disciplined execution
Our Vision
Enhance the lives of patients suffering from cancer, inflammation and other conditions by changing what’s possible in drug discovery.
Our Strategy
Discover and develop novel therapies to cure or alleviate cancer, metaplasia and inflammatory disease that selectively target the underlying cause.
Build a robust pipeline of preclinical and clinical assets alone and/or in partnership with established category leaders in cancer and inflammation.
At Tract Bio, we have a breakthrough stem cell discovery platform stemECHO that has enabled identification of druggable targets for potential therapies for inflammation metaplasia and cancer.
The stemECHO™ platform permits cloning of individual stem cells from epithelial tissue in a manner that protects both the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of the original cell. Using this platform we have identified sub-populations of epigenetically distinct stem cells that are pathogenic in certain forms of cancer and inflammation. Tract Bio has generated a robust preclinical and near-clinical pipeline of Drug Candidates targeting these stem cells which we believe will result in effective treatments for some of the largest diseases with otherwise unmet needs.
Prior to the establishment of stemECHO, there was no practical way to isolate stem cells from tissue biopsies and expand them the hundreds of millions of times necessary for analysis or use in drug discovery assays.
In contrast, stemECHO allows us to isolate single stem cells from a biopsy and expand each of these individual stem cells separately hundreds of millions of times while preserving both the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of the original stem cell. With stemECHO, we can produce a population of diseased stem cells which is robust enough for effective drug discovery.
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StemECHO uniquely clones pathogenic disease-causing stem cells in cancer and inflammation resulting in identification of druggable targets
Current “Organoids” technology doesn’t allow for unlimited expansion with individual cell identification. In contrast, stemECHO enables the generation of pure stem cell “libraries.”
Organoids | stemECHO | |
Ease of Use |  | |
Speed | | |
Unlimited Expansion | | |
Preservation of stem cell heterogeneity | | |
Identification of individual cells | | |
Utility in drug screening | | |
Ideal for development of gene therapies | |
Scientific Founders
Our Scientific Founders are pioneers in stem cell biology and disease pathogenesis of epithelial tissue. Their research has been widely published in peer reviewed top tier journals such as Cell and Nature.
Dr. Wa Xian, Ph.D.
Dr. Xian is an Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston Stem Cell Center and is a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research.
Dr. Frank McKeon, Ph.D.
William Bachovchin, Ph.D.
Dr. Bachovchin is a Professor in the Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology at Tufts University School of Medicine with extensive experience in drug discovery development. He has invented a range of drugs that have progressed into the clinic – including the anti-cancer drug Talabostat, and more recently, precision radiopharmaceutical and chemotherapeutic drugs. His patents also include the discovery of the role of DPPIV in diabetes, which were licensed to Merck for its Januvia drug (peak annual sales $4.5B).
Leadership Team
Richard Russell is the Chief Executive Officer. Rick has more than 20 years of experience leading organizations both in the clinical and commercial stages. He currently serves as Executive Board Chairman for Windgap Medical and on the board of the South Shore Health and Hospital Foundation. He previously served as a member of the board of MassBio from 2012-2022.
Joseph Suarez is the Chief Financial Officer, and is experienced in leading strategy, business operations, finance, human resources and information technology.
Robert Izard, J.D. is General Counsel. Bob is the former Chair of the ABA Litigation Section’s Commercial and Business Litigation Committee.
Pipeline
We have created a robust development pipeline based on our unique discoveries and expect to have an IND submitted for Gastric Cancer in the next 24 months.
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We have identified 4 target areas for clinical development of our lead assets. The lead indication is in gastric cancer with TP-101. Our other programs are in ovarian, Barrett’s Esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma where we are finalizing drug candidate selections for each of these indications. We plan to begin the IND enabling studies on TP-101 for gastric cancer with the goal of gaining approval to begin clinical studies with 24 months.
Publications
Cloning of ground-state intestinal stem cells from endoscopic biopsy samples
Nature Protocols, 2020
Cloning and variation of ground state intestinal stem cells
Nature, 2015
Mutational spectrum of Barrett’s stem cells suggests paths to initiation of a precancerous lesion
Nature Communications, 2015
p63+Krt5+ distal airway stem cells are essential for lung regeneration
Nature, 2015
Distal Airway Stem Cells Yield Alveoli In Vitro and during Lung Regeneration following H1N1 Influenza Infection
Cell, 2011
Residual Embryonic Cells as Precursors of a Barrett’s-like Metaplasia
Cell, 2011