SCN1B mimetic peptide for Dravet and Brugada syndrome
This technology involves engineered peptides that mimic a naturally occurring protein subunit (SCN1B) that regulates sodium channels — the molecular gates that control electrical signaling in nerve and heart cells. By designing synthetic versions of this subunit, researchers can modulate how sodium channels open and close, which directly influences conditions driven by abnormal electrical activity. The peptides, along with the genetic instructions to produce them, can be administered as a therapeutic to patients whose sodium channel function is dysregulated. This is a molecular medicine approach targeting a well-validated biological mechanism.
What you could build
A peptide-based therapeutic drug candidate targeting SCN1B-associated channelopathies such as Dravet syndrome or Brugada syndrome, sold to pharma or biotech companies as a development-stage asset for rare neurological or cardiac indications.
Who in Virginia should care
Biotech and rare-disease drug developers in the Northern Virginia/DC corridor, or academic medical centers such as UVA or VCU with neurology or cardiology programs, would be natural partners or licensees.
Readiness: Concept
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Zachary Williams, Linda Jane Jourdan, Daniel Hoagland, Steven Poelzing, Robert G. Gourdie
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed November 1, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250304649A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.