Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded firm working to develop medications for inflammatory conditions and neurological disorders, is relocating its headquarters to Manatee County's Roskamp Institute, a leading national research facility that specializes in Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders.
The
Bradenton EDC assisted the Glen Allen, VA based pharmaceutical firm in applying for rapid response permitting to facilitate the move into the 3,000-square-foot space at the
Roskamp Institute in Tallevast in south Manatee County. Rock Creek also received a performance-based grant of $48,000 from the Manatee County government to help fund its relocation. To qualify for the incentive, Rock Creek has agreed to create 16 high-impact jobs over the next five years that provide an average wage that is twice the Manatee County annual average.
"The Sarasota-Bradenton area is becoming a new and growing hub for life sciences and bio-technology,'' says Ted Jenkins, Rock Creek's VP for Corporate Strategy and Development.
"If we're successful, we have the potential to grow a lot bigger. I think a 16 employee count is a conservative number,'' Jenkins adds.
Roskamp CEO Dr. Michael Mullan, who is also the CEO and chairman of
Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, worked alongside Roskamp President Dr. Fiona Crawford on the neurological science team that discovered the first-known genetic cause of Alzheimer's disease in 1992.
"The affiliation between the two organizations is poised to bring leading-edge therapies to the life sciences market,'' says Sharon Hillstrom, Bradenton EDC President and CEO, in a news release.
In recent years, Rock Creek (formerly Star Scientific, Inc.) discovered the anti-inflammatory components of anatabine, a minor alkaloid found in tobacco, while researching smoking-cessation alternatives for nicotine addicts. Jenkins says the firm is currently focused on creating FDA-approved drugs that will leverage anatabine's anti-inflammatory components to help with neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, as well as diseases of the nervous system, behavioral disorders and traumatic brain injuries.
"We are increasingly finding out that numerous diseases out there have an inflammatory component,'' Jenkins says.
"I believe we have a very unique compound. It's seen extraordinary results in vitro, in vivo and in pre-clinical animal models. It shows great promise to address potential treatment for major inflammatory based diseases.''
Writer:
Jessi Smith
Source: Ted Jenkins, Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.