Project Grant R44AG058343

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded a $949,062 Project Grant (CFDA 93.866) to Somatoceutics LLC to develop a non-toxic, peptide-based nanomaterial (SMC-101 nanotubes) for delivering drugs across the blood-brain barrier to treat Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. The objectives are to optimize the nanotubes for drug-loading and transcytosis across a blood-brain barrier model in vitro, and then evaluate their toxicity and ability to deliver the drug galantamine to the central...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) will fund the development of a novel Alzheimer's disease therapeutic using targeted nanoparticles. The $504,732 award to Aphios Corp, a minority-owned biotechnology company, will support two phases of research. In Phase I, the company will nanoencapsulate an anti-CCR5 drug in targeted and non-targeted nanoparticles, characterize the formulations, and evaluate their impact on in vitro models of brain...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) provides $506,434 to 3P Biotechnologies, Inc. to develop a targeted delivery system for the bioactive curcuminoids, curcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, to treat and mitigate the progression of neuroinflammatory diseases, specifically Alzheimer's disease. The project aims to apply exosome technology, drug delivery mechanisms, and plant-derived therapeutics for efficient, targeted delivery of these...

The National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866) awarded a $513,740 Project Grant to President and Board of Trustees of Santa Clara College to develop a novel exosome-based nano-scavenger (EBNS) for the targeted removal of amyloid-beta proteins, which are a key characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. The 3-year project aims to genetically engineer exosomes to load both amyloid-targeting antibodies and amyloid-degrading enzymes, leveraging the intrinsic tissue-penetrating abilities of exosomes as a...

This federal Project Grant award of $835,417, provided by the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research), aims to develop novel lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations for the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics to the brain for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The key objectives include: 1) synthesizing novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing lipids, 2) formulating a library of LNPs, and 3) elucidating their trafficking pathways across the BBB. Additionally, the...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) provides $504,505 in funding to Bolden Therapeutics Inc. to conduct preclinical characterization of splice-modifying antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting neurogenesis in human Alzheimer's disease (AD) neural cells. The goal of this Phase I effort is to evaluate lead candidate exon-skipping ASOs in human neural cell culture, with the aim of modulating target expression, altering protein...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging's Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) provides $499,441 to Acepre, LLC to develop a novel brain-targeted delivery system for the compound N-acetylcysteine (TN-NAC) as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The key objectives of this Phase I STTR study are to: 1) evaluate the toxicity and pharmacokinetic properties of TN-NAC in mice, and 2) test the therapeutic efficacy of TN-NAC in a 3xTG-AD mouse model of...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) provides $885,006 to Brigham & Women's Hospital Inc. to develop a smartphone-based point-of-care diagnostic system for detecting Alzheimer's disease-related biomarkers in blood plasma. The system will utilize microfluidics, nanotechnology, optical sensing, and deep learning to measure amyloid-beta, phosphorylated tau, and neurofilament light chain within 30 minutes, with the goal of creating an...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $499,883 to Degrome Therapeutics, Inc. to develop small-molecule degraders of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) as novel therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The project aims to optimize lead APP degrader compounds to improve their potency, solubility, and blood-brain barrier permeability, with the goal of identifying the most promising candidates for further development and evaluation...

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), through the Aging Research Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.866), awarded a $500,000 Project Grant to T-Neuro Inc. to confirm the use of aberrant T cells as an amyloid-independent blood biomarker for potentially earlier diagnosis and tracking the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The award period is from August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026. The project aims to demonstrate that alterations in age-related cytolytic (CD8) T cells can impact AD pathology...