SMDG publishes it's first research paper in Nature Communications:

Crossing the blood-brain-barrier with nanoligand drug carriers self-assembled from a phage display peptide

We show hierarchial forms of a brain-specific phage-derived peptide (herein as NanoLigand Carriers, NLCs) target cerebral endothelial cells through transferrin receptor and the receptor for advanced glycation-end products, cross the blood-brain-barrier and reach neurons and microglial cells. Through intravenous delivery of NLC-β-secretase 1 (BACE1) siRNA complexes we show effective BACE1 down-regulation in the brain without toxicity and inflammation. (October 2019)

World-renowned Neuroscientist, Dr. Choi, Joins SMDG's Distinguished Advisory Board. 

Dr. Choi is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology and Director of Stony Brook University’s Neurosciences Institute.  Choi is also the co-discoverer of the physiological mechanism of action of benzodiazepine drugs, and a pioneer in dissecting processes responsible for neurodegeneration and devising neuroprotective countermeasures. His laboratory identified a key role for NMDA receptor activation and calcium overload in excitotoxicity, and zinc in ischemic brain injury.  Dr. Choi’s research has been recognized by several awards including the Wakeman Award, the Conte Award, the Ho-Am Prize, and the Reeve Medal.  Dr. Choi is a founding co-editor of the journal "Neurobiology of Disease", a fellow of the AAAS, a past President of the Society for Neuroscience, and a past Vice President of the American Neurological Association. He has served on advisory committees to multiple public and private organizations, including HHS, FDA, NIH, and the IOM. (May 2018)

World-renowned Neuroscientist, Dr. Dichter, Joins SMDG's Distinguished Advisory Board. Dr. Dichter, is the Professor of Neurology and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania, and the former Director of the David Mahoney Institute of Neurosciences having served for twenty years as Director of the Penn Epilepsy Center.  In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Dichter’s research has significantly contributed to understanding basic mechanisms underlying epilepsy and the action of antiepileptic drugs. His work also involves translational and clinical studies. He is the recipient of the Javits Award from the NINDS, a Fulbright Fellowship, the Solomon Berson Distinguished Alumnus Award from New York University, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Award for Research in Antiepileptic Drugs and The William G. Lennox Award from the American Epilepsy Society and the President’s Award at Queens College.  (May 2018)

SMDG announces selection of Cooley LLP as its primary counsel, according to Dr. Shadi Farhangrazi, SMDG CEO and co-founder.  “We are delighted to have Cooley guide our team. Their expertise in biotech will help SMDG amplify its goals and objectives,” said Farhangrazi. (February 2018)

S.M. Discovery Group (SMDG) has been invited to attend the J. P. Morgan, 36th Annual Healthcare Conference, San Francisco, January 2018.  J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry. Every year more than 400 companies, both public and private, and more than 8,000 attendees attend this unique conference.  J.P. Morgan conferences are by invitation only.  (December 2017)

S.M. Discovery Group  announces addition of Dr. A. Waseem Malick to its advisory board.  World-renowned for his work in pre-formulation, formulation, analytical and drug delivery research, Malick served as the Global Head of Pharmaceutical & Analytical R&D at Hoffmann-La Roche before recently retiring.  He has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications (science and pharmaceutical journals) and written over 10 chapters in various industry and academic books.  He has presented at more than 30 professional conferences and seminars.  He is the recipient of five patents. (November 2017)

Professor Patrick Couvreur joins the advisory board of S. M. Discovery Group.  Professor Couvreur’s contributions in the field of drug delivery, nanomedicine and drug targeting are highly recognized globally with more than 500 peer review research publications.  Professor Couvreur has been appointed as a member of eight national academies (Académie des Sciences, Académie des Technologies, Académie Nationale de Médecine and Académie Nationale de Pharmacie in France, as well as the Académie Royale de Médecine in Belgium, the Royal Academy of Pharmacy in Spain, the United States National Academy of Medicine and the United States National Academy of Engineering).  (July 2017)

Dr. Donald Tomalia, world-renowned chemist joins the advisory board of S. M. Discovery Group. Dr.  Tomalia is the Director of the National Dendrimer & Nanotechnology Center and Distinguished Professor/Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry - Central Michigan University and external faculty at the University of Wisconsin (Madison)- School of Pharmacy.  During a long and successful career at Dow Chemical, his discovery of dendrimers (dentritic architecture) in 1979 led to his third R&D-100 Award in 1991 and the Leonardo da Vinci Award (Paris, France) in 1996.  (July 2017)

Dr. Moghimi,  Co-founder of S.M. Discovery Group, has been appointed as Deputy Editor of Molecular Therapy (Cell Press).   Molecular Therapy is the flagship journal of the American Society for Gene & Cell Therapy and the leading journal for research in the areas of gene transfer, vector development and design, stem cell manipulation, development of gene-, peptide-, protein-, oligonucleotide-, and cell-based therapeutics to correct genetic and acquired diseases, vaccine development, pre-clinical target validation, safety/efficacy studies, and clinical trials.  (July 2017)

Research offers new way to improve nanopharmaceuticals for personalized medicine

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Dr, Moghimi's research highlighted by over 180 news outlets in April 2017