Arisaph Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for cardiometabolic diseases and cancer, has received a phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The phase I award supports the research and development of Arisaph's small molecule immune modulators to stimulate tumor immunity following treatment with BRAF inhibitors in cancer.
Following the successful completion of the research, the Company may be eligible for up to $2 million of additional phase II funding to further the development of its immune modulator program for the treatment of melanoma. To date, Arisaph has received in excess of $55 million of non-dilutive capital, including $2.8 million awarded under the US government's Therapeutics Discovery Project Programme (TDPP) and $37 million from royalty monetizations leveraging the Company's DPP 4 inhibitor patent estate.
"We are delighted to receive our third small business grant from the NIH in support of our promising oncology programmes, which could enhance the efficacy of existing therapies, such as BRAF inhibitors, for the treatment of melanoma," said Christopher P Kiritsy, president and chief executive officer. "This award continues the string of government grants and other non-dilutive support, enabling the Company to advance its pipeline in an investor friendly manner."
Arisaph has leveraged its medicinal chemistry expertise to develop a class of small molecule immune modulators to boost the immune system to fight various cancers. Such immune modulators are expected to enhance the efficacy of various therapeutic antibodies (e.g., mAbs for tumour killing or for immunomodulation) and small molecule anti-cancer agents, such as BRAF inhibitors to treat colon cancer, melanoma and possibly other solid tumors. The Company also is developing tumour activated prodrugs, which are largely inactive in general circulation, but selectively activated by a specific enzyme that is up-regulated in tumour tissue to release anti-cancer warheads. This platform technology has led to the discovery of a lead tumour activated proteosome inhibitor and a lead tumour activated doxorubicin for treatment of a range of cancers.