Incara Pharmaceuticals Corporation has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant from the National Cancer Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant is to study the antitumor and radiation-protective effects of Incara's catalytic antioxidants, and is anticipated to be funded in two segments. Phase I is for $100,000 and will begin immediately. Phase II is contingently approved by the NIH upon meeting Phase I objectives, expected to require approximately six months. Phase II consists of $750,000 payable over the following two years.

Compounds from Incara's antioxidant program have inhibited the growth of tumors in animal models of cancer as well as protected normal cells during animal models of radiation therapy. The objective of the Phase I SBIR grant will be to select a specific Incara catalytic antioxidant compound to enter into more extensive experiments in Phase II of the SBIR grant. The Phase II grant will explore the ability of the selected compound to inhibit the vascularization of tumors and to block damage to normal tissue from radiation therapy.

Both phases of the grant will be a collaboration between Incara and the Department of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center. Richard E. Gammans, Incara's head of research and development, will be the Principal Investigator. Zeljko Vujaskovic, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology will be the Collaborator at Duke University Medical Center.