MediBeacon, a St. Louis-based biotech company with a focus on commercializing devices and optical agents for use in diagnostics, has been a tenant of the Helix Center in the 39 North innovative district since February 2013. The biotech company fits perfectly within 39 North’s 600 hundred-acre innovation district in St. Louis alongside cutting-edge organizations like Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, BRDG Park, Bayer Crop Science, and the Yield Lab.
MediBeacon was created in 2012 by Steven J. Hanley and Dr. Richard B. Dorshow to acquire the optical diagnostics and therapeutics program from Mallinckrodt. Mr. Hanley, former President of Covidien, Mallinckrodt’s Imaging Solutions business unit, is MediBeacon’s CEO. Dr. Dorshow, who established and led development of the optical diagnostics and therapeutics program at Mallinckrodt, is MediBeacon’s Chief Scientific Officer. The company holds numerous patents on its light-activated agents, which are the foundation of MediBeacon’s technology platform.
MediBeacon’s latest venture is their exclusive partnership with Chinese company Huadong Medicine, a publicly traded company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The biotech company entered into a $30M investment commercialization relationship with Huadong Medicine. The agreement will provide exclusive rights to MediBeacon’s portofolio of assets in Greater China. Huadong Medicine will be responsible to fund the clinical trials, commercial and regulatory activities in 25 Asian countries including Greater China (PRC Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan), Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore.
“We are extremely excited to partner with Huadong Medicine in Greater China” says Steve Hanley, CEO and Co-Founder of MediBeacon. “Huadong has over 6,500 representatives covering all key areas of China including a strong presence in the nephrology community. As a leading pharmaceutical company in China, we believe they are the perfect partner to drive market adoption for our pipeline of products.”
39 North is proud to have MediBeacon help drive St. Louis’ innovative district and looks forward to continue working with them.
MediBeacon’s investors include Jump Capital, St. Louis BioGenerator, Missouri Technology Corporation, the Helix Fund, and the St. Louis Development Corporation.