Onconaut Therapeutics Awarded a Fast-Track STTR Grant to Develop a Targeted Inhibitor to Address Unmet Needs of Colorectal Cancer Treament

Onconaut Therapeutics, a privately-held therapeutics company and prior Innosphere client company, announced today that it has received $2.5M in funding through a Fast-Track Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI) for Onconaut to develop small molecule drug inhibitor targeting Chromodomain Helicase DNA binding protein (CHD1L), a novel oncogenic target for metastatic colorectal cancer and other cancers. The grant will allow Onconaut to rapidly develop a lead compound suitable for preclinical IND studies as a single agent and in combination with FOLFIRI.

“This grant will enable us to bring forward several already identified inhibitors against CHD1L to test them with the goal of identifying a single lead candidate that we can then progress into pre-clinical testing prior to filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) with the FDA,” said Dan LaBarbera, CEO of Onconaut. “The data we have generated to date is very encouraging in its impact on reducing tumor size in colorectal cancer models. We are excited to have received this grant so we can further progress this important program to target metastatic colorectal cancer”.

About Colorectal Cancer:

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. Approximately 50% of those patients will develop metastatic cancer. For men and women combined, it is the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.. This disease has recently surged in young adults. While treatment options are available if caught early, late stage disease is mostly intractable.

About Onconaut:

Onconaut is an early stage privately-held therapeutic company developing inhibitors that target CHD1L, a novel cancer target that has been shown to increase metastatic potential by promoting malignant gene expression and tumor cell survival. The company is currently developing its first lead drug targeting colorectal cancer. Onconaut was founded in 2023 as a spin-out from the University of Colorado, Anschutz.

 

 

Contact:
Dan LaBarbera, PhD
CEO
[email protected]

onconaut.com