Michael O’Rand, PhD, President and Chief Scientific Officer
$300,000 / 2 years Awarded 2019 |
Eppin PharmaDurham, NC
About
Eppin Pharma is currently located in NC BioLabs, 701 West Main Street, Suite 200, Durham, NC 27701. Michael O’Rand, PhD, is an emeritus professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Medicine. Dr. O’Rand is a reproductive biologist and has more than 40 years of experience in studying mechanisms underlying fertilization. Dr. O’Rand established the in vitro fertilization laboratory in UNC School of Medicine’s North Carolina Memorial Hospital and the first “test tube” baby in North Carolina. He has 5 issued or pending patents and more than 90 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. O’Rand has an AB from the University of California at Berkeley, an MS from Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon and a PhD in Biology from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. Our Grant
Our MCI grant supports three IND-enabling milestones that are required for Eppin Pharma to reach its goal of submitting an IND application to the FDA. The approval of an IND will lead directly to a phase I clinical trial in the NIH contraceptive clinical trial network. The milestones of the grant are: (1) validate the methodology used to quantitate EP055 in biological samples; (2) conduct in vitro screening using a panel of 47 targets, which provides a rational first step in preliminary safety assessments. This panel provides early identification of potential off-target interactions for the optimization of safety margins; (3) conduct a GLP-compliant repeat-dose IV toxicity study. |
Publications
Michael G. O’Rand, Katherine G. Hamil, Tiffany Adevai, Mary Zelinski PLOS One April 19 2018. Inhibition of sperm motility in male macaques with EP055, a potential non-hormonal male contraceptive. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195953
O’Rand MG, Silva EJR, Hamil KG. Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Jan; 157:105–11 Non-hormonal male contraception: A review and development of an Eppin based contraceptive. PMID: 26593445 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2015.11.004
Michael G. O’Rand, Katherine G. Hamil, Tiffany Adevai, Mary Zelinski PLOS One April 19 2018. Inhibition of sperm motility in male macaques with EP055, a potential non-hormonal male contraceptive. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195953
O’Rand MG, Silva EJR, Hamil KG. Pharmacol Ther. 2016 Jan; 157:105–11 Non-hormonal male contraception: A review and development of an Eppin based contraceptive. PMID: 26593445 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2015.11.004