INTRODUCTION: This memo serves as a year in review for Grann Pharmaceuticals Inc. and highlights significant milestones made between the dates of September 14, 2022, and September 14, 2023. The memo is broken down into quarterly reviews. The first quarter being September 14, 2022 - December 31, 2022. The second quarter January 1, 2023 - March 31, 2023. The third quarter April 1, 2023 - June 30, 2023. The fourth quarter July 1, 2023 - September 14, 2023.
Quarter 1: September 14, 2022 - December 31, 2022
Grann Pharmaceuticals Inc (Grann) incorporated on September 14, 2022. On this date, Thomas Lyle-Temple (Thomas) was chosen as President and Chief Executive Officer of Grann. Ishaan Chetty and Dominic Samanta were chosen as Vice Presidents. Mason Lebby was chosen as Chief Technical Officer. Patrick Granahan was chosen as Business Development Manager and John Granahan as Chief Financial Officer. Grann carried out initial development operations at Whittier College in Los Angeles, CA while the founding scientific members completed their final year of undergraduate education. It was also during this time that Grann began searching for investors. In November 2022, Thomas approached Alastair Winn inquiring about a potential investment deal in Grann. After some negotiating, Alastair offered $750,000 for equity in the company which Grann Pharmaceuticals accepted.
With investment and funding secured, Grann transitioned into patent searching for its mRNA solid lipid nanoparticle-based treatment for Alzheimer’s disease using its attorneys at Foley Hoag. When they discovered none that resembled its own treatment, Grann patented its Alzheimer’s therapeutic, ALZ-1.
Thomas and the rest of the company made the decision that, while all scientists were completing their final year of undergraduate studies, it would be best to hire additional help so the burdens of research on ALZ-1 could be alleviated and pre-clinical cellular testing could be completed efficiently and effectively. As such, Grann brought on eight Whittier College student interns to assist in lab work from December 2022 to May 2023.
Quarter 2: January 1, 2023 - March 31, 2023
With a patented therapeutic and assistance from 8 interns, Grann began its initial preclinical studies of its treatment, ALZ-1. This comprehensive research started from scratch, building up every part of the methodology and required inventory. Research into the mRNA development, lipid nanoparticle creation and dose creation of the therapeutic were tested and recorded to get a comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic.
Following the improvement of the methodology and creation of ALZ-1, the application of ALZ-1’s capabilities were investigated via cellular trials. Through this testing, the team was able to prove that the concept of mRNA encapsulated by solid lipid nanoparticles could in fact be used as a treatment for Alzheimer’s. Grann’s research showed that ALZ-1 was capable of stopping 80 mM lead acetate poisoning during in vitro via cellular viability testing. ALZ-1 is designed to refold any and all misfolded proteins through the re-expression of a protein lost by many, if not all, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Parkinson’s patients. ALZ-1 was shown to be incredibly effective at delivering the mRNA payload and expressing the desired protein.
Quarter 3: April 1, 2023 - June 30, 2023
In the beginning of April, Grann’s scientists completed its initial preclinical trial of its Alzheimer’s therapeutic and quickly moved to pursuing animal trials. In May of 2023, Grann’s founding members graduated from Whittier College with degrees in Biology and Biochemistry. Grann then moved laboratory operations from Whittier College to California State University San Marcos’ (CSUSM) Infinity Lab, where they still operate today.
It was during this time that Grann brought on two additional employees: Cole Irie and Chris LeClair. Cole was brought on as the head lab technician for Grann helping with day to day laboratory operations and upkeep. Chris assists Patrick with various business tasks, such as reaching out to potential investors, accounting, and initiating discussions with rare disease foundations. In addition to these members, Grann also brought on two CSUSM Masters students as laboratory interns to assist with Grann’s experimental research.
The CSUSM Infinity Lab provided a great opportunity for further testing the validity of Grann’s methodologies, as well as allowing the team to explore other ventures to use their newly patented solid lipid nanoparticle mRNA technology. From this came the idea to use mRNA to help tackle rare diseases where most have little to no treatments developed or in development. The team then began reaching out to multiple rare disease foundations to inquire about forming partnerships to create more viable treatments for their respective rare disease. In four months, the team was able to successfully make viable mRNA solid lipid nanoparticle therapeutics for multiple rare diseases. This also allowed Grann to learn more about how to tailor their technology for treatments other than their Alzheimer’s therapeutic.
Quarter 4: Jul 1, 2023- September 14, 2023.
Grann added pre-clinical data to its Alzheimer’s patent, which was finalized during the fourth quarter months. Shortly thereafter, Thomas initiated contact with the KCNT1 Epilepsy Foundation. Grann is currently in talks about a partnership with the KCNT1 Epilepsy Foundation and hopes to officially partner with them in the near future. This partnership will signal an official pivot into the rare disease field for Grann, with Grann’s first rare disease therapeutic being SLACK-1, a particle that can re-express the healthy version of the KCNT1 protein. It was also during this quarter that Grann attended Innovation Day, a networking event for various startups to form connections and relationships to potentially explore business opportunities in San Diego. Finally, Grann continues to prepare for animal trials for ALZ-1 at Acculab Life which has been finalized in this quarter and will begin in the first quarter of year two.
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