DecImmune Therapeutics was awarded a $3 million, three-year Phase II SBIR grant to support late preclinical studies and initial clinical trials of DeciMab™, its monoclonal therapeutic in development for the treatment of the vascular inflammatory diseases. With this grant, the company has now been awarded $7 million in SBIR funding to accelerate DeciMab’s development.
DecImmune said DeciMab targets a novel innate autoimmune pathway that arises in large and small vessels following a wide range of insults including hyperglycemia, ischemia in sickle cell disease and heart attacks, and in chemotherapeutic cardiotoxicities. DeciMab is aimed at preventing tissue damage and preserving organ function.
During preclinical proof-of-concept studies, the company said DeciMab showed in small and large animals that a single dose immediately following a heart attack can prevent significant cardiac tissue damage and enable pumping efficiency to continue at near normal levels three weeks later.
The grant is supporting continued development for the prevention of heart failure post heart attack. It will also help enable DecImmune to complete the work necessary to begin human safety and tolerability studies in 2016, according to Walter Newman, Ph.D., CSO.
In addition to $7 million in NIH SBIR grant funding, DecImmune has received financing from HealthCare Ventures, Amgen Ventures, Astellas Venture Management, and Broadview Ventures.