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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (August 7, 2008)

Hiberna Corp. Licenses Univ. of Colorado Drug Development Technology

(BOULDER, Colo.)Hiberna Corporation, a Boulder-based company developing drugs based on natural models of extreme metabolic regulation, has executed an exclusive license agreement with the University of Colorado’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO) for technology using the python as a model to identify targets and/or potential therapeutics to treat cardiac hypertrophy.

The licensed technology is based on the ability of the python to increase the muscle mass of its heart up to 60% (and speed up its metabolism by as much as 40x) after eating a large meal; these dramatic changes are reversed after the python has digested its meal, with no ill effects upon the snake. Inventor Leslie Leinwand, a professor in the department of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at CU-Boulder and Director of the University of Colorado Cardiovascular Institute, believes these changes may point to potential drug targets and therapeutics for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy, a human disorder in which thickened heart muscle causes a decrease in the size of the chambers of the heart. Dr. Leinwand is a co-founding scientist of Hiberna, along with Dr. Sandy Martin at the University of Colorado Denver.

“We are fortunate to have Dr. Leinwand on our team at Hiberna,” says CEO Dr. Tom Marr. “She is a thought leader in the field of molecular cardiology.” Marr founded the company in 2007 after studying and publishing gene expression papers on mammals found in northern Alaska that exhibit extraordinary physiological adaptations relevant to human health.

“We are excited about the commercial prospects for the CU technology,” adds Tom Smerdon, Director of Licensing and New Business Development at TTO. “Hiberna is a visionary company with an opportunity for some breakthrough pharmaceutical products.” In 2007, Hiberna received a $100,000 proof-of-concept investment from TTO, to help support development of the technology. The company is now backed by Boulder Ventures and the Peierls Foundation.

About the Technology Transfer Office
The CU Technology Transfer Office pursues, protects, packages, and licenses to business the intellectual property generated from research at CU. Over the past five years, 49 companies have been created based on CU research. The TTO provides assistance to faculty, staff, and students, as well as to businesses looking to license or invest in CU technology. For more information about technology transfer at CU, visit www.cu.edu/techtransfer.

About the University of Colorado
The University of Colorado is a three-campus system with campuses in Boulder and Colorado Springs, and a Denver campus located in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. CU is a premier teaching and research university, ranked sixth among public institutions in federal research expenditures by the National Science Foundation. Academic prestige is marked by CU’s four Nobel laureates, seven Mac Arthur “genius” Fellows, 18 astronauts, 19 Rhodes Scholars and CU-Boulder’s ranking of 11th best public university in the world by the Institute for Higher Education. For further information, please visit http://www.CU.edu.  

About Hiberna Corp.
Hiberna Corporation, founded in 2007 and located in Boulder, CO, is pursuing drug development efforts based on novel model organisms that exhibit extreme metabolic regulation. Hiberna’s drug development strategy is based on the work of Dr. Leslie Leinwand and colleagues at the University of Colorado. Hiberna Corporation is backed by Boulder Ventures and the Peierls Foundation.