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Publication Date: March 13, 2025 Published By: Venture Beat Article Link: https://venturebeat.com/business/building-biotech-excellence-the-growth-strategy-behind-neonc-technologies-vision/
In his years as Director of Surgical Neuro-Oncology at the University of Southern California (USC), Dr. Thomas Chen has witnessed countless innovations in the world of cancer treatment. However, before helping create NeOnc’s potential treatments for biotech company NeOnc , Dr. Chen reflected on the many challenges that come with treating brain cancer.
Historically, brain cancer has been extremely difficult to treat. That’s largely because the blood-brain barrier, one of the brain’s natural defenses against pathogens and other hazards, prevents most cancer drugs from reaching the organ.
“The main question is, ‘How do we get that drug to the target?’” says Dr. Chen. “And so people have worked on modifying their compounds to become more blood-brain barrier permeable.”
These innovations have helped to an extent, but the prognosis has remained bleak for many patients diagnosed with brain cancer. It’s a problem that has stumped the medical community for decades, but now, Dr. Chen has under development a potential solution, one that’s a clear departure from what researchers have been trying all these years.
Through NeOnc , he has focused on the creation of a nasal spray that has the potential to transport life-saving cancer drugs to the brain.
The novel treatment method relies on what Dr. Chen terms “nasal-brain delivery” to potentially get cancer-treating drugs across the blood-brain barrier and into the brain. “In nasal-brain delivery, what you’re doing is that you’re inhaling the compound and you’re letting your cranial nerves deliver the drug to the brain,” he explains.
Such innovation has the potential to make treating brain cancer (almost) as simple as smelling a flower, as the olfactory nerve is responsible for transporting the drug molecules.
The technology behind NeOnc is novel. To succeed in the business world, however, the company needed strong leadership and a solid plan for growth.
One of the company’s most critically important alliances is with Executive Chairman Amir F. Heshmatpour, a businessman with extensive experience starting and scaling companies from the ground up.
“Dr. Chen is the founder, the CEO, the Chief Medical Officer. He runs all the science and development, the patents, the labs, and so on,” Heshmatpour says. “I’m his partner, and I run anything related to finance, structure, or corporate governance.”
Dr. Chen and Heshmatpour are the key players in NeOnc’s leadership. However, one of the company’s great strengths is the fact that it pulls from a deep pool of talent. In addition to its board of directors and management team, NeOnc has a dedicated Science Advisory Board.
This arm of the leadership team includes members like Dr. David M. Peereboom, a Cleveland Clinic medical oncologist who specializes in brain tumor management, and Dr. Steven L. Gianotta, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.
Dr. Chen is a respected neurosurgeon, and NeOnc’s Science Advisory Board includes respected neurology and oncology practitioners. They spend their days battling the cancers NeOnc aims to treat, so they’re uniquely equipped to map out the company’s future.
For example, Dr. Chen and NeOnc’s Science Advisory Board have prioritized developing a nasal-brain delivery system for children.
“Brain cancer for kids is the deadliest cancer,” says Dr. Chen. “Fifty percent of kids who have brain cancer die. Our current nasal-brain delivery system is designed for people 18 years and older. We are focusing on developing a pediatric version of this, which has been used for patients with pediatric brain cancer. It’s currently in phase one trials.”
The scientific side of NeOnc is constantly evolving, pushing boundaries in biotech innovation. On the business side, Heshmatpour, the Executive Chairman of NeOnc, is leading the charge with a purposeful growth strategy. Initially, the company had its sights set on a traditional initial public offering (IPO), but Heshmatpour made a strategic decision to pivot to a direct listing instead.
“We’re one of the few companies in the biotech sector to ever do that,” he explains. “We took a totally different path, and we feel very, very confident that it was the right decision.”
The move to a direct listing is uncommon in the biotech sector, where IPOs are the norm. However, it aligns with NeOnc’s reputation for addressing complex challenges with bold solutions. Under Heshmatpour’s leadership, the company isn’t just following a road less traveled—it’s forging a completely new one.
“We’re creating our own path,” he says. “We’re driving our own destiny, and that independence allows us to focus on both long-term growth and innovation.”