A Valley company that develops medical diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases is experiencing rising demand for testing and research, prompting an expansion into a larger space in Scottsdale.
CND Life Sciences is leasing 15,000 square feet of space for its new global headquarters at 9165 E. Del Camino Drive, Suite 101 in the Pima Center. The company also occupies a suite for administrative and logistics operations nearby at 9105 E. Del Camino Drive.
The company has developed a diagnostic test kit, Syn-One, which looks for abnormal proteins indicating the presence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, REM sleep behavior disorder and Parkinson’s disease.
“Because of the growing demand for the test and for additional research, we knew we had to find a new space,” said Rick Morello, CEO of CND Life Sciences.
The company was previously based at 5070 N. 40th St. in Phoenix.
The company's new headquarters houses a commercial laboratory where it processes biopsies from its diagnostic test kits, in addition to a research and development laboratory where staff conducts projects for CND Life Sciences and other biopharmaceutical companies, Morello said.
Over the past few years, CND has grown to more than 60 employees, including pathologists, lab technicians and scientists. The company’s diagnostic test kits are utilized by 700 neurologists nationwide.
CND Life Sciences looks to hire more, could expand again
CND Life Sciences chose the Pima Center for its new headquarters because it could accommodate the company's future growth. CND Life Sciences may consider leasing an additional 10,000 square feet by the end of the year, Morello said.
The Pima Center also boasts a growing scientific community with opportunity for collaboration, said Todd Levine, co-founder and chief medical officer of CND Life Sciences and medical director of neurology at Honor Health.
CND Life Sciences was founded in 2017 by three neurologists: Levine, Christopher Gibbons and Roy Freeman.
The company's Syn-One test is used to detect, visualize, and quantify the presence of abnormal proteins in cutaneous nerve fibers. While there aren’t cures for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, detection of those abnormal proteins helps doctors determine what they should be looking for next.
“This has been an area where doctors and patients really haven't had a very sensitive or specific test,” Levine said. “We're hearing from the clients — doctors as well as the patients — that this is really changing the way they view the diagnostic process.”
Last year, CND Life Sciences was awarded three grants from the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health to further its technology and research.
"We are now working with biopharmaceutical companies who are developing drugs targeting this bad form of the protein, so that in the next three, four or five years, there will actually be new drugs that can attack the disease itself as opposed to just managing the symptoms of disease,” Morello said.
The company has raised more than $10 million in capital since its inception from investors including Honor Health, FFF Enterprises, Tanis Ventures as well as angel investors Andy Rapkin and Peter Harris, who is also the company’s board chair.
“We are likely to do a series A financing by the end of the year and are excited about seeing the interest in continuing to fund our growth,” Morello said.
