Strategic Partnerships

Industry partners have a range of opportunities to collaborate with USC. These engagements can take many forms, from working directly with researchers and students to accessing valuable resources, participating in specialized centers of expertise, and contributing to regional economic development.

Our expert team works closely with USC’s senior administration, faculty, business offices, and industry representatives to develop customized partnership strategies that align with the goals and needs of all involved.

If you’re interested in learning more about our Collaborators and Strategic Partners, keep reading below.

Auransa Inc.

USC Norris is collaborating with Auransa Inc., on a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate a new kind of treatment for cancers of the liver and solid tumors with liver-dominant disease.

Auransa and USC are also collaborating on a broader approach to bring novel and much-needed therapeutics to cancer patients, leveraging both Auransa’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) drug discovery platform to identify novel disease mechanisms and capabilities from the Rosalie and Harold Rae Brown Center for Cancer Drug Development at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Contact:

Vasiliki Anest, PhD, Chief Innovation Officer; Head of MESH Strategic Partnerships: vasiliki.anest@med.usc.edu

Autobahn Labs

USC has partnered with Autobahn Labs to accelerate the transformation of groundbreaking academic research into innovative therapies. Through its renowned early-stage drug discovery accelerator, Autobahn Labs will invest up to $5 million in selected USC projects, providing critical resources to advance promising discoveries into potential drug candidates.

With the support of Samsara BioCapital and Charles River Laboratories, this collaboration leverages a proven framework to efficiently translate scientific hypotheses into drug development programs. MESH Strategic Partnerships plays a key role in fostering this alliance, ensuring USC innovators have the expertise and industry connections needed to navigate the complex path from research to commercialization.

Contact:

Camilo Ansarah-Sobrinho, PhD, Director, Corporate Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: camilo.ansarah@med.usc.edu

California Life Sciences

California Life Sciences (CLS) and the USC MESH Strategic Partnerships are partnering to bring a new groundbreaking opportunity to faculty entrepreneurs at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. CLS’ acclaimed FAST Advisory Program matches early-stage life sciences startups with a customized team of industry veterans to help them commercialize their discoveries. A new dedicated FAST-USC MESH track will bring these advisory services to entrepreneurs from USC as part of CLS’ expansion of the FAST program to Southern California.

The FAST Program provides select entrepreneurs with intensive team review and coaching to perfect their business model and product development plans and build a compelling commercialization strategy. Emerging innovators benefit from the advice of industry veterans –selected from a network of more than 425 professionals during the 12-week program. The program culminates with a Final FAST Showcase and Reception, where the companies present to a distinguished audience of potential investors and collaboration partners.

This opportunity is open to Keck School faculty entrepreneurs with early stage life science startups.

Contact:

Melissa J. Rodgers, PhD, Director, Corporate Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: rodgersm@usc.edu

ChemDiv

The Rosalie and Harold Rae Brown Center for Cancer Drug Development (CCDD) at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Keck School of Medicine has partnered with ChemDiv, a recognized global leader in drug discovery solutions in a strategic service partnership to accelerate the development of groundbreaking cancer treatments.

This multi-year service agreement’s primary goal is to design, discover, and develop promising oncology therapeutic candidates through close cooperation between scientists at USC and ChemDiv, leveraging ChemDiv’s 25+ years of expertise accelerating R&D programs to higher value clinical inflection points.  ChemDiv is a fully integrated discovery and development Contract Research Organization (CRO) headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA. ChemDiv’s expertise and services cover a range of disciplines needed to bring a new project in CNS, oncology, inflammation, metabolic, infectious and other diseases from identification of a biological target (protein expression, assay development, etc) to clinical drug candidates (ADE/DMPK, toxicity and safety studies, efficacy models, etc) to Proof of Concept drug candidate (Phase I and II) and finally to the market.

Contact:

Camilo Ansarah-Sobrinho, PhD, Director, Corporate Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: camilo.ansarah@med.usc.edu

Heal L.A.

Heal.LA is a new initiative powered by the Larta Institute. Heal.LA is a Bioscience Accelerator that identifies, nurtures, and scales top-notch bioscience enterprises to impact the health and wellness of our local and global communities.

MESH is on the steering committee and provides startup consultation to aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage life science startups.

Have an early-stage company? Contact Larta directly to receive an invitation to apply.

Contact:

Camilo Ansarah-Sobrinho, PhD, Director, Corporate Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: camilo.ansarah@med.usc.edu

L.A. Biostart

MESH is a proud partner in the LA BioStart Bioscience Entrepreneurs Boot Camp, a free, 5-week intensive program designed to support early-stage bioscience entrepreneurs, startup founders, and academic innovators. The program offers hands-on mentorship and targeted training, helping participants develop critical business and leadership skills necessary to launch and grow a successful biotech startup. Open to scientists, faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and first-time entrepreneurs, the curriculum covers Business Fundamentals, Leadership, and the Bioscience Industry, with a mix of virtual and in-person sessions, weekend workshops, and networking events that connect participants to LA’s life science community.

MESH contributes to the program by reviewing applications and hosting a dedicated session at USC’s Health Sciences Campus (HSC), where participants have learned about USC startups like Acurastem and university resources, including the USC/CHLA Cell Therapy Program and the D.K. Kim International Center for Regulatory Science. Through this partnership, MESH bridges the gap between academic discovery and commercial opportunity, supporting the next generation of bioscience innovators.

Contact:

Camilo Ansarah-Sobrinho, PhD, Director, Corporate Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: camilo.ansarah@med.usc.edu

Ryght

USC has partnered with Ryght to revolutionize clinical trials using generative AI. As the first U.S. academic institution in the Ryght Research Network, USC is leveraging AI to streamline trial feasibility assessments, match expertise to studies, and enhance patient enrollment—particularly at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

By integrating Ryght’s advanced AI tools, USC is leading the way in optimizing cancer research and exploring expansion across the Keck School of Medicine. This collaboration accelerates trial timelines, bringing breakthrough treatments to patients faster.

Contact:

David Friedland, MD, PhD, Director of Clinical Applications: David.Friedland@med.usc.edu 

Sanford Burnham Prebys

To accelerate the development of new therapeutics at USC, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has partnered with Sanford Burnham Prebys. SBP’s Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics (Prebys Center) is one of the most advanced drug discovery centers in the nonprofit world.

Under this agreement, USC researchers will collaborate with scientists at the Prebys Center to transition clinically relevant targets to early-stage drug discovery, including assay development and high-throughput screening to identify chemical compounds that modulate the activity of the targets

The partnership is open to all USC researchers interested in small molecule drug discovery.

Contact: 

Melissa J. Rodgers, PhD, Director, Corporate Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: rodgersm@usc.edu