Anchored in work undertaken by some of the founding principals at University of California, San Diego, licensed from that institution and currently resident in JLab San Diego, Alume is a biotechnology company developing nerve-targeted pharmaceutical agents for surgical and therapeutic use - specifically, an imaging agent for surgical guidance to avoid nerve injury during surgery. The firm's first product, ALM-488, is a fluorescently labeled peptide-dye conjugate that makes human nerves "glow," - a capacity judged likely to reduce injury to critical nerves during surgery. Inadvertent injury to nerves during syrgery leads to loss of function, including paralysis, numbness and decreased quality of life. Alume intends further to develop agents including ALM-488 to be used as an adjunct during surgery to help surgeons "see" nerves better compared to current visualization with white light alone. Alume's technology has the potential to improve the accuracy of nerve identification, decrease operative time, and lead to better outcomes for patients.
