Arisaph Pharmaceuticals receives STTR grants to develop cancer drug candidates

Arisaph Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of novel therapies for cardiometabolic diseases and cancer, announced today that it has been awarded a phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant and a supplemental phase I grant, both from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

The phase II award of $1,066,916 supports research and development for the Company's tumor-activated prodrug platform for the treatment of a variety of cancers. The supplemental phase I award of $160,721 funds additional preclinical studies of the Company's small-molecule immune modulators for the stimulation of tumor immunity following treatment with BRAF inhibitors in melanoma. Following the successful completion of the research, the Company may be eligible for additional funding from the NIH through the STTR/SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program to support further research and clinical development of the Company's cancer drug candidates. To date, Arisaph has received a total of 6 awards from the NIH's STTR program for a total of approximately $2.1 million. The Company has raised in excess of $60 million of capital from nondilutive sources since inception, principally through grants, licenses and royalty monetizations leveraging the Company's DPP 4 inhibitor patent estate.

"We believe that the continued support from the NIH for these pioneering oncology programs validates the approach we are taking to advance two distinct treatment paradigms in cancer," said Christopher P. Kiritsy, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Both of these research and development efforts initially aim to improve the safety and/or efficacy of existing therapies to produce better outcomes for refractory cancer patients."

SOURCE Arisaph Pharmaceuticals, Inc.