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Mirkine Pharma, Inc. (“MPI”)
Sylvie Beljanski started MPI (originally founded as Molecular International Research) as a sister company to Natural Source International (now Maison Beljanski), producer of anti-cancer and immune support natural products based on her father’s work at the Pasteur Institute.
John Hall joined in 2004 to research and develop new intellectual property.
Together they have successfully obtained three patents, one for ‘Prevention and Treatment of Prostate Cancer’ (US, EU, CA, IN), a second for ‘Therapeutic Treatments Based on Administration of Small RNA Fragments’ (EU, JP and IN). Their new patent ‘Selective Anti-cancer Agent Effective for Prevention and Treatment’ (US, EP, JP; pending in CA, CH) is the current focus.
The company is privately held and the founder has funded our progress to date. We now seek investment for further development of the N13-9-1 drug candidate through licensing or acquisition.
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John Hall, PhD
A biochemist, cell, and molecular biologist, Dr. Hall spent his academic career at Rockefeller University studying the dynamic structures in cells including microtubules and molecular motors. He is known for the discovery of basal body DNA, a chromosome encoding proteins involved in cell motility that is specifically attached to basal bodies, which are microtubule organizing centers. Some of these proteins are also involved in cell division. After leaving Rockefeller he started a biotech company, Motility Research Corporation, which identified cancer cell drug targets by exploiting the genetic connection between cell motility and mitosis.
He then joined Sylvie Beljanski as Director of Research at the Beljanski Foundation to confirm and advance Dr. Beljanski’s discoveries. He was appointed CSO of Mirkine Pharma to research and develop new intellectual property for the company.
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Our Team
Sylvie Beljanski, President, was born in New York City when her father, the biochemist Mirko Beljanski, PhD, was doing a fellowship with Nobel Prize winner Severo Ochoa at New York University Medical Center. She was raised and educated in Paris, where she completed her undergraduate studies at the Sorbonne (BA History). She pursued a law degree at the Pantheon-Sorbonne and was admitted to the bar. Sylvie started Mirkine Pharma to pursue new paths to intellectual property in biotechnology. Sylvie is the President and CEO of Mirkine Pharma, Inc.
Contact: Sylvie@mirkinepharma.com
John Hall, CSO, was born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey. He was a graduate fellow at Princeton University in Biochemical Sciences, and he completed his PhD at New York University Medical Center in the Department of Biochemistry. Dr. Hall was a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. He was promoted to the faculty, where his research focused on microtubule organizing centers and microtubule organelle assembly. He served as President and CEO of Motility Research Corporation and is currently Chief Scientific Officer of Mirkine Pharma, Inc.
Contact: John@mirkinepharma.com
Gary Tanigawa, our IP attorney, has practiced patent law for over 20 years. He conducted graduate research at MIT and Harvard Medical School where he received his PhD. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. To transition to a legal career, Gary attended Georgetown University Law Center, while working at the Patent and Trademark Office and then at a boutique law firm. His practice at Studebaker and Brackett focuses on the patenting of novel biotherapeutics and diagnostics at both multinational pharma and smaller life science companies, transactions, and IP strategy.
Kelly Welles, Advisor, is a business consultant who brings over 25 years of international business experience in banking, investments, and insurance, working closely with such companies as JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Société Générale, Northwestern Mutual, Russell Investments, and others.
Joshua Goldberg, Advisor, has been with the firm of Nath, Goldberg & Meyer since 1997. He received his Chemical Engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis before attending The George Washington University Law School. His practice has focused on both the acquisition of world-wide patent portfolios, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, as well as assisting his clients with licensing and commercialization of intellectual property.
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Mirko Beljanski, PhD (1923-1998), is an honorary member of the team. His work provided the starting point for MPI’s drug project.
A biochemist and biologist, Dr. Beljanski spent his professional career at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, studying the causes and mechanisms occurring during gene activation, cell division and tissue development in both normal and malignant states. His book, “The Regulation of DNA Replication & Transcription”, published in 1983 (first edition – published by Karger), is devoted to this critical subject.
Dr. Beljanski discovered a change in the conformation of the cell’s DNA when in the presence of carcinogens, pollutants, or other harmful molecules. He showed that the DNA of a cancer cell becomes unwound or destabilized, a finding that was recently confirmed in the United States.
These results led him to invent the Oncotest, which allowed him to identify the carcinogenic potential of different molecules often present in our daily surroundings.