GAINESVILLE, Fla. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:AGTC), a biotechnology company conducting human clinical trials of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for the treatment of rare diseases, today announced that the company has been selected to the 2016 Gator100.
The Gator100, named after the University of Florida’s mascot, annually recognizes and celebrates the 100 fastest-growing businesses in the world that are either owned or led by University of Florida graduates. It is sponsored by the University‘s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center and Warrington College of Business. The winning companies were announced earlier today at the Gator100 Awards Gala at the University of Florida.
“On behalf of AGTC, I would like to thank everyone at the University of Florida who has been instrumental in the growth of our company,” said Sue Washer, President and CEO of AGTC. “Many groups within UF including the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator, Office of Technology Licensing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center, College of Medicine and the Powell Gene Therapy Center have provided ongoing support as we have evolved from a small startup to publicly traded company.”
AGTC has a long-standing relationship with the University of Florida, where a significant portion of the company’s technology was developed. AGTC maintains extensive ties to the University through multiple Sponsored Research Agreements, covering basic research projects that will enhance its basic AAV technology platform and support of pre-clinical and clinical development for new product candidates. During its early years, AGTC was located within the University’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator.
Ms. Washer is a graduate of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. In addition, all five of AGTC’s Scientific Founders, including William W. Hauswirth, a member of the company’s scientific advisory board, have been or are professors at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
“We congratulate AGTC for being named to the Gator100, and applaud the company’s recent achievements,” said Jamie Kraft, Director of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center at the Warrington College of Business. “Biotechnology is an important industry impacting Florida’s growing life sciences hub, and AGTC has proven itself as an emerging leader in the promising field of gene therapy. We are confident that the company will continue to make meaningful progress in developing novel therapies to treat rare diseases with significant unmet needs and look forward to our continued collaboration.”
About AGTC
AGTC is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that uses its proprietary gene therapy platform to develop products designed to transform the lives of patients with severe diseases, with an initial focus in ophthalmology. AGTC's lead product candidates focus on inherited orphan diseases of the eye, caused by mutations in single genes that significantly affect visual function and currently lack effective medical treatments.
AGTC’s product pipeline includes six named ophthalmology development programs across five targets (X-linked retinoschisis, X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, achromatopsia, wet age-related macular degeneration and blue cone monochromacy), non-ophthalmology programs in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and adrenoleukodystrophy and proof-of-concept data in multiple additional indications. AGTC employs a highly targeted approach to selecting and designing its product candidates, choosing to develop therapies for indications having high unmet medical need, clinical feasibility and commercial potential. AGTC has a significant intellectual property portfolio and expertise in the design of gene therapy products including capsids, promoters and expression cassettes, as well as, expertise in the formulation, manufacture and physical delivery of gene therapy products.