{"id":133082,"date":"2026-06-09T01:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=133082"},"modified":"2026-06-08T16:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:37:29","slug":"dr-hopkins-molecule-moves-closer-to-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/06\/09\/dr-hopkins-molecule-moves-closer-to-clinic\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Hopkins\u2019 molecule moves closer to clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A startup company built on a new therapeutic created at the UNMC College of Pharmacy recently announced the close of a $6.5 million funding round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The successful seed round of investment will allow Goldenrod Therapeutics, Inc., to complete the studies required for pursuing clinical trials in 2027, according to a company press release issued last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goldenrod Therapeutics is a drug development startup focused on treating brain inflammation common in several debilitating and degenerative neurological conditions. Their core technology is called “11h,” a molecule that UNMC chemist Corey Hopkins, PhD, developed to inhibit a natural protein called PDE4 or phosphodiesterase 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PDE4 is involved in several inflammatory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and central nervous system diseases that include drug addiction, schizophrenia and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, and Batten Disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is exciting and gratifying to see your work possibly improve someone’s life,” Dr. Hopkins said. “For 11h, its progress means a lot because of all the effort put in by students and postdocs over the years. So, it\u2019s fantastic that their hard work is getting closer to actually helping patients.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNMC’s technology transfer and commercialization office, UNeMed, helped establish Goldenrod in 2023. UNeMed also created the licensing framework for the technology’s use and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Drug discovery is some of the most important work we do at UNMC, and investors place real value on new molecules and discoveries,” UNeMed’s President and CEO, Michael Dixon, PhD, said. “A raise like this shows what our science is worth, and the Center for Drug Design and Innovation<\/a> is at the heart of that effort. As our research enterprise grows, continued investment in drug discovery and development will be critical to our success creating and developing new therapeutics.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the things I love most about drug discovery is that you never know where a promising molecule might end up helping the most,” Dr. Hopkins said. “This condition desperately needs new treatments, so it’s amazing to be closing that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Existing medications targeting PDE4 carry with them severe side-effects\u2014like nausea and vomiting\u2014and have poor uptake into the central nervous system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Hopkins’ new compound reduced the potential for adverse side-effects while showing dramatic improvement in brain uptake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is what world-class drug discovery looks like, and it is happening right here at UNMC,” Dr. Dixon said. “Dr. Hopkins and his team have designed a molecule that overcomes a problem the pharmaceutical industry wrestled with for decades, and now a company has the capital to carry it into the clinic.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The successful round was led by Ataxia Ventures and an affiliate of Fannin Partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The scientific foundation established at [UNMC] and Fannin has positioned 11h as a potentially important advancement in CNS-targeted PDE4 inhibition,” said Tom Hamilton of Ataxia Ventures, “\u2026with potential relevance across a broader range of diseases.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New startup raises $6.5 million to market a new therapeutic based on UNMC 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