The Farmers Market in Hershey

For the Community

HCAR is proud to announce that the Farmers Market in Hershey, a wellness-focused farmers market located on the HCAR campus, will celebrate its grand opening on Thursday, July 1 from 3:00PM-7:00PM. The market offers locally sourced food, cooking demonstrations and wellness programs. The grand opening is the result of an exciting partnership between the Hershey Center for Applied Research, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, Hershey Trust Company and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company.

“The applied research that takes place at HCAR has a direct and tangible impact on people, and the Farmers Market is a perfect example of health, wellness and life sciences innovations reaching the public in meaningful ways,” said Laura Butcher, Executive Director. “Similar to the market, our resident organizations are searching for ways to take ideas and integrate them into the community—from new healthy food products to pioneering diagnostic tools. At HCAR innovation goes from the lab bench to the patient bedside, as now to the park bench, as well.”

In autumn 2009, the idea of establishing a farmers market near Penn State Hershey was borne out of a conversation between Dr. Danny George, a faculty member at Penn State College of Medicine, and Wade Edris, a scientist in a Penn State College of Medicine research lab. Support was overwhelming, and months of planning led to a soft opening on June 3, 2010. Public response has been outstanding, and attendance has grown steadily in anticipation of the grand opening celebration.

“I am thrilled that the community has embraced the market,” George said. “The grand opening festivities are particularly meaningful for me, not just as a professor at the College of Medicine, but as a member of this community. The people and organizations in Hershey are rallying around wellness and healthy eating.”

The market is open Thursdays through October, from 3:00PM to 7:00PM on farmland left to the Hershey Trust by Milton S. Hershey. Each week, customers may visit to peruse a wide selection of locally produced fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meats and baked goods, and other specialty items such as herbs and spices, canned/preserved goods, flowers, coffee, cider and honey. Most products are organic or naturally produced and originate within a 25-mile radius of the market.

The market will also soon feature innovative wellness programming including cooking classes, free health screenings, health education and musical acts from the community.

For more information, visit the market's Facebook page.

HCAR in Israel

Collaboration Across the Globe

In June, HCAR Director of Business Development Jack Atchason traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel to attend the ILSI-BioMed 2010 Conference, Israel’s premiere life science event. The collection of representatives from the medical device research, drug discovery diagnostics, pharmaceutical, nanotech and biotech fields made the conference a unique opportunity to establish relationships with foreign-based life sciences companies.

Working closely with the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s Office of International Business Development, Jack was able to secure 14 partnering meetings, build new contacts and obtain a first-hand look at Israel’s sophisticated innovation engine.

Israel’s early-stage ideas are fostered and managed through a system of 24 private incubators that distill the most promising ideas through a process of stringent due diligence. Viable projects are given access to a mixture of public and private funding and support services totaling, on average, $500,000 US per company, per year, allowing them to grow and attract additional investment. This aggressive and highly competitive process has led to a wealth of exciting innovations within Israel. The highlight of Jack’s visit was a trip to Haifa, Israel’s second largest city, and the home of the LN Green Technological Incubator which is the premier clean tech incubator in Israel.

“Getting a first-hand look at a seasoned, sophisticated and complete commercialization model was extremely valuable,” said Jack. “I was able to establish relationships with the executives of many of the incubators which will lead to opportunities for collaboration as they explore the possibilities of US facilities.”

Jack’s attendance at the conference was made possible through a Regional Investment Marketing grant administered by CREDC and funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The grant program is intended to reinforce the linkages between state and regional efforts to promote business expansion and to attract new investment to Pennsylvania, and focus regional economic development efforts on industries and industry sub-sectors where the likelihood of success is greatest.

The conference included 165 exhibitors and more than 5500 attendees from 45 countries. Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel, opened the conference with a challenging and thought-provoking address. He issued a call to action, saying that the companies represented would be counted on to push innovation forward in the medical field. Each industry represented at the conference presented a different keynote overview, giving all attendees a wide-angle view of recent trends and ongoing innovation.

By attending this type of event and collaborating with some of the world’s most exciting incubators and new ventures, HCAR was able to promote Hershey and the Central Pennsylvania region as a primary choice for a US entry.

View photos from Jack's trip here.

Apogee Biotechnology Corporation Prepares to Launch Phase I Clinical Study

From Academic Research to Commercialization and Beyond

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, claiming more than 35,000 lives in 2009. New and more effective therapies are desperately needed for pancreatic cancer patients, and Apogee Biotechnology Corporation, an HCAR tenant, is leading the fight against the disease through its sphingosine kinase inhibitor program. This exciting program is poised to begin a first-in-man, Phase I clinical study.

The Phase I human trials will include 30 to 40 patients with advanced solid tumors. The goal of the Phase I trial is to establish a maximum tolerated dose and determine an appropriate dosage for an eventual Phase II clinical trial. Low doses of compound ABC294640 will be given orally to three individuals with the effects being closely monitored. If there is no toxicity, the dose will be escalated and given to more patients. The secondary objective of the Phase I trial is to determine the pharmacokinetics of ABC294640, and to observe patients for any evidence of antitumor activity.

Apogee was founded in 2001 by Charles D. Smith, Ph.D. ABC294640 is the product of its lead technology platform—orally available, small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme sphingosine kinase. The inhibitors have shown excellent preclinical efficacy in numerous tumor and inflammation models.

HCAR is thrilled to be working with Apogee during this exciting time, and has helped the company navigate the move from the academic research lab into a commercialized environment. That’s part of what attracted Apogee to Hersey in February of 2008.

“In academic labs, you have the tools to develop early research, but don’t necessarily have the environment for commercialization.” Smith said. “That was really the motivating factor to joining HCAR—the proactive environment for commercialization.”

If Phase I is successful, Apogee will move through Phase II and Phase III before the drug is eligible for a New Drug Application to the FDA. Phase II studies the therapeutic use of the drug in more depth. Patients are carefully matched with the drug’s target diseases—pancreatic and liver cancer in the case of ABC294640. In Phase II, doctors are looking to see if the treatment shrinks the tumor, improves survival and/or improves the quality of life. Phase III clinical trials typically involve multiple institutions and several hundred patients.