# BioEnergenix **Type:** venture **Status:** Draft **Confidence:** Low **Focus:** metabolic syndrome, PASK inhibition, diabetes, obesity, NAFLD/NASH, University of Utah spinout **Stage:** Unknown as of 2026; last primary public signal is 2014 preclinical partnership press release **Location:** Unknown (University of Utah spinout lineage; no confirmed HQ in sources reviewed) **Updated:** 2026-06-19 **Needs-reviewed:** 2026-06-19 **Hero:** https://picsum.photos/seed/bioenergenix-pask-metabolic-2026/1600/1100 **Pull:** *A U of U spinout betting metabolic syndrome has a tractable root cause in PASK — public trail goes cold after 2014.* **Relates:** cites [University of Utah Health Press Release: BioEnergenix Metabolic Syndrome Spinoff](bioenergenix-uofu-health-press-release.md) ## Summary BioEnergenix is a biotechnology company described in a 2014 University of Utah Health press release as a **University of Utah spinoff co-founded in 2009** by biochemistry professor Jared Rutter. The stated thesis: treat the shared metabolic dysfunction underlying type 2 diabetes, obesity, and related conditions — not just downstream symptoms — by inhibiting **PASK (PAS kinase)**, an enzyme that modifies SREBP-1c and drives hepatic fat production. In rodent studies tied to that release, a BioEnergenix drug candidate blocked PASK activity, lowered liver fatty acids and triglycerides, and partially reversed insulin resistance in diabetes-prone animals. Rutter hoped human clinical trials could begin within a couple of years **as of 2014**. **Critical evidence gap:** No official website, recent press release, SEC filing, or clinical-trial registry entry for BioEnergenix was verified during this migration. Current operating status, pipeline stage, headquarters, and funding are **unknown**. Treat all forward-looking 2014 statements as historical, not present fact. ## Impact Metabolic syndrome clusters hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and obesity — conditions affecting a large fraction of adults and driving cardiovascular and renal morbidity. Most approved therapies manage components rather than reversing shared pathophysiology. If PASK inhibition safely and durably restores insulin sensitivity and lowers pathological lipids in humans, it could matter across type 2 diabetes, severe hypertriglyceridemia, and NAFLD/NASH — overlapping indications discussed in later academic literature affiliated with the program (not captured as a current company disclosure here). **None of that clinical impact is established for BioEnergenix today** given the evidence gap. ## What They Are Building Based solely on the 2014 university press release: 1. **Target:** PASK-mediated post-translational activation of SREBP-1c and downstream lipogenic enzymes. 2. **Approach:** Small-molecule PASK inhibitors developed through the spinoff, tested preclinically in collaboration with U of U researchers (including Allen Nickols named on the release). 3. **Intent:** Advance a drug candidate toward human trials for metabolic syndrome and related disorders. Later academic and faculty-profile materials (outside this migration's primary source) reference a development candidate called BioE-1115 and IND-oriented language; **those details are not confirmed on the single primary source page captured here** and may reflect a historical program whose current status is unclear. ## What They Need Now Cannot be stated reliably without current company contact. If still active, a PASK program would likely need medicinal chemistry, metabolic-disease clinical development, regulatory affairs, and capital for IND-enabling work and Phase 1/2 trials. If inactive or absorbed, contributors should verify status before investing time. ## Who Could Help Potentially relevant if the company re-emerges: University of Utah Technology Licensing Office connectors, metabolic-disease KOLs familiar with PASK biology, NAFLD/NASH clinical operators, and investors with appetite for resurrected academic spinouts. **Verify existence and interest first.** ## Utah Context BioEnergenix traces to Jared Rutter's biochemistry program at the University of Utah and the 2014 launch of the Diabetes and Metabolism Center, where Rutter served as co-director. It sits in the same Utah metabolic-research lineage as other U of U spinouts working on diabetes and liver disease, though **no Salt Lake City headquarters is confirmed** in the primary source reviewed (legacy intake assumed Utah presence). ## Evidence - [University of Utah Health Press Release: BioEnergenix Metabolic Syndrome Spinoff](bioenergenix-uofu-health-press-release.md) ## See Also - [SymbioCellTech](symbiocelltech.md) — Utah therapeutics company in diabetes/metabolic space (different modality: cellular therapeutics per Altitude Lab portfolio) - [Recursion Pharmaceuticals](recursion-pharmaceuticals.md) — contrasting Utah scale in computational drug discovery (NephroNovus-adjacent theme only; BioEnergenix evidence is much older and thinner) ## Open Questions - **Is BioEnergenix still operating?** No primary source after 2014 confirms active development, financing, or clinical trials. - **Headquarters and team** — not stated on the captured press release; third-party directories conflict and were not used as evidence here. - **BioE-1115 / PASK inhibitor pipeline status** — referenced in academic materials elsewhere; not verified on the company side in sources reviewed. - **Relationship to current U of U TLO portfolio listings** — PIVOT/TLO startup directories may list the company, but no dedicated TLO page was captured in this sparse migration. - **Official website** — none confirmed; do not infer product status from absent web presence alone, but the gap limits confidence. - The placeholder hero should be replaced with a cleared scientific or institutional image if the venture is revived for public catalog use.