Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC: PRWP), a developer of therapeutics that target Galectin receptors to treat cancer and fibrosis, today announced it has been notified that it has been awarded approximately $489,000 total in two federal grants under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project ("QTDP") Program.
“We are pleased to receive these non-taxable grants from the federal government”
The criteria for getting the grants were:
- Unique technology
- Promise of significant advance in the treatment of the disease
- Carrying out research protocols for the purpose of securing federal government approval by the FDA.
Pro-Pharmaceuticals submitted two grant applications; one for its DAVANAT® anti-cancer compound, which is entering a Phase III clinical trial to treat colorectal cancer, and a second grant for its GR-Series of anti-fibrotic, cirrhosis compounds, which have reversed liver fibrosis/cirrhosis in pre-clinical studies. The only treatment for late stage fibrosis or cirrhosis is liver transplantation.
"The funds will accelerate our pre-clinical trials with the goal of obtaining an Investigational New Drug application for human trials and a joint venture partner for our liver fibrosis compounds as soon as possible," said James Czirr, Executive Chairman and co-founder, Pro-Pharmaceuticals.
The Company's various polysaccharide compounds target Galectin receptors that have been shown by internationally recognized researchers to adversely affect development of cancer cells and to reverse the formation of fibrotic tissue in diseased livers.
"We are pleased to receive these non-taxable grants from the federal government," said Theodore Zucconi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Pro-Pharmaceuticals. "It was a very competitive approval process and highly oversubscribed. We believe the grants for DAVANAT®, our anti-cancer compound, and for GR-Series, our anti-fibrosis compounds, validate our drug development programs and approach for treating acute and chronic diseases with polysaccharides. The QTDP Program seeks to accelerate development of compounds that are novel and show great promise of success as treatments for disease. Our drug development programs were awarded the grants because our polysaccharides are novel, non-toxic, and because the Galectins they target are instrumental in the pathology of many diseases."
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