Download 689-3048 CIT GAP Funds Invest in Extinction

Contact:
Hap Connors
(703) 689-3048
[email protected]
CIT GAP Funds Invest in Extinction Pharmaceuticals
Revolutionary technology to treat anxiety disorders and other related conditions experienced by 25 million
Americans.
April 20, 2011 (HERNDON, Va.) – The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced today an
investment in Extinction Pharmaceuticals. This Williamsburg, Va.-based drug development company is
creating a proprietary and revolutionary therapeutic approach for treating anxiety disorders and other
afflictions that can benefit from traditional talk therapy treatments.
The Extinction treatment plan uses a lower dosage of D-cycloserine (DCS), an FDA-approved drug for the
treatment of tuberculosis. Unlike traditional anxiolytic drugs, DCS does not target anxiety symptoms, but
instead helps enable a more effective therapy session. DCS is only administered in conjunction with
psychotherapy and not taken on a daily basis.
CIT President and CEO Pete Jobse said, “Extinction’s plan to treat anxiety disorders is innovative and
they are quickly becoming pioneers in the drug development industry. Not only can Virginians benefit
from their discovery, but their unique approach will change the way therapy is conducted across the
globe.”
DCS works by facilitating a process known as extinction learning. By consolidating the learning from a
therapy session, DCS makes these sessions more efficient. This effect has been demonstrated in
placebo-controlled, double-blind human clinical trials for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, and simple phobia; it is currently being tested in investigator-initiated
clinical trials for addiction, autism, stroke recovery, and other conditions.
Jason McDevitt, CEO of Extinction, said, “There is a large market of approximately 25 million people in
the US suffering from anxiety disorders, and the majority of them don’t actually receive any formal
medical treatment. Our drug – which has a unique therapeutic mechanism unlike anything currently on
the market – can potentially revolutionize the way anxiety disorders are treated. We believe that DCS is
safe, therapeutically effective, and cost-effective, and will be embraced by patients, doctors, and
insurers.”
Tom Weithman, CIT Vice President and GAP Funds Managing Director, said, “We offer life science
entrepreneurs like Jason McDevitt access to hard-to-find capital, while leveraging public and private
investments with the potential to generate extraordinary economic returns for the Commonwealth of
Virginia.”
Since its 2005 launch, CIT GAP Funds has placed 42 investments across the Commonwealth, deploying
$4.3M of public funds to attract $61M of private investment. (For a list of portfolio companies, please visit
the GAP Funds website.)
Extinction’s founders have been issued three patents in the United States, along with an issued patent in
Australia and an allowed patent throughout Europe. Other US and international applications are pending.
About the Center for Innovative Technology, www.cit.org
CIT is a nonprofit corporation that accelerates the next generation of technology and technology
companies. CIT creates new technology companies through capital formation, market development and
revenue generation services. To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of
technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology startup companies and
advanced technology consumers.
About Extinction Pharmaceuticals, www.extinctionpharmaceuticals.com
Extinction Pharmaceuticals is a drug development company with a proprietary and revolutionary
therapeutic approach to treating anxiety disorders and other afflictions typically benefitting from traditional
talk therapy treatments. This approach uses a drug that works not by directly treating a patient’s
symptoms, but instead by improving the psychotherapy treatment a patient receives for a particular
condition.
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