GeneSoft Pharmaceuticals Inc has been awarded further funding of $5.5 million for its ongoing contract with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and the US Army to develop countermeasures to biowarfare threat agents. GeneSoft's biodefense program is focused on the development of the company's small molecule anti-genomic therapeutics (SMATs) technology that specifically target DNA signatures found in the DNA of many biological warfare agents, including bioengineered threat agents. GeneSoft has already received $15.3 million in DARPA funding from 1999-2002. The $5.5 million in incremental funding increases the total support for the SMAT program to nearly $21 million.
"It is notable that in the face of tough competition from across the Country, GeneSoft Pharmaceuticals successfully secured this significant funding," said Congressman Tom Lantos. "This further emphasizes the Bay Area's leadership position in biotechnology and California's commitment to our national security interests."
"Since 1999, Genesoft Pharmaceuticals has established focused and fruitful working relationships with both the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency and the US Army to develop countermeasures to biological warfare threat agents," commented David Singer, CEO of GeneSoft. "We are proud to be able to apply our technology and expertise to this vital defense effort."
SMATs are new broad-spectrum drugs that unify antibacterial, antiviral and anti-malarial activities into a single therapeutic that offers substantial cost benefits and logistic advantages for physicians and the military. Due to their novel mechanism of action, SMATs also offer the advantage of being able to target threat agents bioengineered to be resistant to standard therapeutics. SMATs have been developed using GeneSoft's programmable DNA-Nanobinder technology. This proprietary technology enables the design and synthesis of small molecules that directly target essential DNA signatures and quickly kill threat agents by interfering with gene expression and DNA replication.