Cooperative Agreement R43CA221414

This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $457,683 to the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope to develop and evaluate novel "Bio-Beacons" - tumor-targeting bacterial vectors engineered to secrete chemokines and cytokines. The goal is to increase the density of tumor-reactive immune cells, such as CD8 T cells, CD4 T cells, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells, within solid tumors. This is...

This federal Project Grant award of $270,981 from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.398 - Cancer Research Manpower) supports a five-year research program to investigate resistance mechanisms to anti-PD-1/L1 immunotherapy in hepatobiliary cancers. The key objectives are to: Conduct a Phase 2 trial evaluating an anti-TIGIT plus anti-PD-1 antibody combination in hepatobiliary cancers refractory to PD-1 blockade. Characterize immune and molecular features of anti-PD-1/L1 therapy-resistant...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 Cancer Treatment Research) aims to investigate the role of bacteria-derived small molecules in improving the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) cancer immunotherapy. The $540,288 award to the University of Florida supports research to identify specific bacteria from ICI-responsive patients that produce small molecules capable of enhancing anti-tumor immune responses and boosting the effects of ICI treatment....

Federal Project Grant Award Summary Immunogenik, Inc. received a $398,997 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) effective July 1, 2025, with a completion date of June 30, 2026. The grant supports research and development of a novel immunotherapeutic approach targeting tumor-associated myeloid cells (TAMCs), including tumor-associated macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, which constitute up to 50% of certain...

Federal Grant Award Summary Immunogenik, Inc. received a $398,997 Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) awarded on June 9, 2025, with completion expected by May 31, 2026. The company is developing a clinical-grade humanized antibody (hu-ALAIR1) targeting Leukocyte-Associated Immunoglobulin-like Receptor 1 (LAIR1/CD305) to overcome tumor-associated macrophage (TAM)-mediated immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. The...

This SBIR Phase I project, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084), aims to develop a method to turn on cancer immunotherapies only at the site of disease. The $275,000 award will support Synsorybio, Inc., a for-profit organization, in creating protein switches that activate immunotherapies in response to disease signals, rather than indiscriminately throughout the body. This approach seeks to improve the...

Federal Grant Award Summary Ioncologi Inc. received a $276,544 Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026. The award funds the development of IOI7, an autologous stem cell biotherapeutic designed to overcome immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) resistance in glioblastoma patients. The project delivers two primary products: (1) optimization and validation of a closed-circuit, scalable...

This Project Grant award, with a total funding amount of $553,167.00, was provided by the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) to The Washington University in Illinois, USA. The grant supports a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of combining a peptide vaccine (PEP-CMV) targeting cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigens with the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab for the treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent pediatric brain tumors, including...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) provides $275,000 to Targeting Systems to develop a novel intramuscular gene delivery platform capable of sustained expression and endogenous secretion of bispecific natural killer cell engager (BIKE) therapeutics to treat solid tumors like hepatocellular carcinoma. The platform aims to deliver BIKEs in a less invasive manner than current immunotherapies,...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $619,628 Project Grant under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, doing business as Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania. The funding will support the development and validation of an autologous mouse model to study immune system interactions with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. The goal is to create a humanized mouse system that incorporates patient-derived tumor...