Tech startup of the month.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Hightech coloradobiz - Accera Inc.

INITIAL LIGHTBULB: After leaving Broomfield-based Univera Pharmaceuticals, a biotech he founded in 1995, Dr. Steve Orndorff teamed with Dr. Sam Henderson to launch a new venture, Accera. The drug-discovery startup aims to stamp out neurodegenerative diseases--with Alzheimer's disease the first target in its sights.

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Laid off from a Denver biotech in 2000, Henderson had previously embarked on research that bucked the Alzheimer's status quo, which pegs plaque on the brain as the root cause. "I didn't think that was the correct approach," Henderson said. "I decided to look into my own ideas." In the process, he formulated the theory that a metabolic slowdown was at the crux of the disease. Through networking, Henderson connected with Orndorff, now Accera's president and CEO. (Henderson is the startup's research director.) Both founders have extensive backgrounds in biotech; Henderson is a molecular biologist and CU-Boulder research associate, and Orndorff is a 25-year industry veteran, with stints at NutraSweet and Coors Biotech on his resume.

IN A NUTSHELL: Orndorff termed Accera's technology as "a novel approach" to the treatment of Alzheimer's and other memory disorders. The theory: neurodegenerative diseases are "based upon a defect in the energy metabolism of the brain," he said. "What we believe is that the brain in these patients can no longer use glucose as a primary energy source." Because of this, neuronal cells--"the workhorses of the brain," crucial for memory and cognition--"basically starve" in Alzheimer's patients, Orndorff explained. "The root cause of (Alzheimer's disease) is still unknown," he added. While many researchers have theorized that plaque forming on the brain causes memory failure, Orndorrf labeled such plaque "as more of a symptom of the disease that occurs much later after the onset of this whole cascade"--the slowing of cerebral metabolism in older patients.

Accera's drug--AC1202--provides neuronal cells with an alternate source of energy, bypassing defects in metabolism. "The approach is, if we can improve general metabolism and lipid metabolism, that will improve the disease," Henderson explained. "It's actually really straightforward." Additionally, Accera has developed a drug-discovery platform and plans to identify compounds that will battle other clinical targets, such as cerebral hypermetabolism--the opposite of neurodegenerative slowdown.

CLINICAL TIMELINE: AC1202 has long been used...