Project Grant R44CA221487

The National Cancer Institute awarded Plantiosx Inc. $406,500 under the Small Business Innovation Research program on September 1, 2026, to develop manufacturing infrastructure for cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) intratumoral immunotherapy in solid tumors. The award funds Phase I research to advance CPMV toward clinical trials for cancer treatment. Plantiosx will establish a qualified cowpea seed bank—certified, tested for viral infectivity and contamination, and stored as traceable sub-lots—to serve...

The Tiny Cargo Company received a $432,000 National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Project Grant to test the scalability of an exosome isolation technology for developing an orally administered radioprotective therapeutic. The goal is to establish proof-of-concept for a safe, orally delivered drug platform capable of transporting biologic and small molecule therapeutics to treat radiation damage and related diseases. The first year of the award will determine scaling...

The National Cancer Institute awarded Nuvox Pharma, L.L.C. $2,896,263 on September 22, 2025 under the Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394) to develop blood-based biomarkers that distinguish pseudoprogression from true disease progression in glioblastoma patients treated with chemoradiation and dodecafluoropentane emulsion (DDFPE), an oxygen therapeutic. The work is performed in Tucson, Arizona with a completion date of August 31, 2027. The project tests two hypotheses:...

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences awarded The Tiny Cargo Company, a for-profit small business in Roanoke, Virginia, a Cooperative Agreement totaling $985,974 on July 1, 2026, under the NCATS program (CFDA 93.350). The award funds development and scaling of Xolacta, a milk-derived extracellular vesicle (MEV) therapeutic loaded with an esterified drug compound (ACT11-4OME) designed to promote regenerative healing of the gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow following...

Paramita Therapeutics Inc. received a $353,009 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395), awarded September 24, 2025, with completion targeted for August 31, 2026. The project focuses on developing novel multivalent prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted taxane-conjugates to address bone metastases in prostate cancer. The research involves synthesizing multivalent drug conjugates (MDCs)...

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health awarded $322,184 to Delaqua Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on August 5, 2026, under the NCATS program (CFDA 93.350) to develop a non-PEG polymeric micelle platform technology for enhanced drug solubilization and oral bioavailability. Delaqua is developing a stealth, hyper-loaded polymeric micelle approach for drugs co-administered with P-glycoprotein (PGP) inhibitors. The platform targets the dual...

The National Cancer Institute awarded Matrisome Bio, Inc. $3,481,203 on September 23, 2025, under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) to develop an extracellular matrix-targeted theranostic radiopharmaceutical for metastatic lung cancer. Matrisome Bio is developing molecularly targeted drugs based on nanobodies that specifically target disease-associated extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins highly expressed in lung cancer and other cancer indications while minimally expressed in...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) provides $305,000.00 in funding to Absco Therapeutics, Inc. (DBA Abscotx) to develop an image-guided intratumoral therapy for treating immunotherapy-resistant solid tumors. The project aims to create an innovative drug delivery platform that can improve the efficacy and safety of biologic cancer therapies, addressing challenges such as poor on-target...

The National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute awarded Oncotab, Inc. $1,130,587 on August 1, 2026, under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) to conduct Phase II SBIR research on a bispecific antibody T-cell engager (muCD3) combined with chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer treatment. Oncotab will advance muCD3 through preclinical studies designed to de-risk its path toward first-in-human trials and commercialization. The work includes evaluating muCD3 structural...

This $399,499 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394), supports the development of Liquid Biotech's TELOMESCAN circulating tumor cell (CTC) assay for monitoring non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing radiation and immunotherapy. The key products and services to be delivered through this funding include: 1) Developing a clinical prototype of the TELOMESCAN assay with automated analysis to...