Mirna Therapeutics announced today that the Company received a $5 million award from the State of Texas through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (“ETF”). The ETF was created with the goal of growing new and existing businesses to accelerate the introduction of new products and services in the marketplace. This is the largest award of this type that has ever been granted.
“The ETF award is a catalyst for advancing our microRNA mimic discovery platform and a robust pipeline of promising drug candidates”
“The ETF award is a catalyst for advancing our microRNA mimic discovery platform and a robust pipeline of promising drug candidates,” said Dr. Paul Lammers, CEO and President. “Mirna has identified the connection between microRNAs and many diseases, including cancer, and we can leverage our first mover advantage and early patent filings to develop miRNA therapeutics for multiple cancer types. We are showing good effectiveness treating aggressive lung and prostate tumors in mouse models, and it is our mission at Mirna to become one of the leading microRNA-based therapeutics companies.”
As part of Mirna’s continued momentum, the Company announced it has appointed Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P. and Steven L. McKnight, Ph.D. as scientific advisors. Dr. Lammers said, “Dr. McKnight brings to Mirna a critical understanding of intra-cellular signaling pathways involved in cancer. Dr. Von Hoff’s clinical and drug development expertise in oncology will assist Mirna in applying the functional understanding of the microRNA mechanisms to the development of cancer therapeutics and creating an optimal regulatory pathway for bringing our products to market. We are very excited to be working with them both.”
Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D.