Innovimmune receives $600,000 NIH grant to develop MIF inhibitors for RA

Jun 14 2012

Specialty drug discovery company, Innovimmune Biotherapeutics, Inc. has been awarded a $600,000 Advanced Technology Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will be used to fund the development of its proprietary oral small molecule macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) inhibitors for the potential treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The team of discovery and development experts in autoimmune and immunoinflammation diseases at Innovimmune has discovered oral small molecule cytokine inhibitors that exhibit a novel mode of binding to MIF.

"This federal grant support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH, underscores the potential and quality of our science and our structure-based drug design platform, which enables our team to advance the development of promising oral disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and novel therapies for autoimmune diseases," said Anderson Gaweco, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Innovimmune.

"This grant demonstrates the enormous talent and innovation that exists within New York City's biotechnology companies," said Lenzie Harcum, M.B.A., Vice President, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Director, Bioscience Team, Center for Economic Transformation. "NYCEDC is proud to provide continued support to Innovimmune and other New York-based companies that drive science and research forward, bringing us closer to new solutions for diseases with high unmet medical needs."

Innovimmune also has strengthened its management team with the addition of Jefferson Tilley, Ph.D. as Vice President, Discovery Chemistry and Gordon Beck, Ph.D. as Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Alliances.

"Drs. Tilley and Beck are pivotal additions to the Innovimmune team, which position us to advance our leading proprietary small molecule discovery programs against novel therapeutic targets of not only MIF but also Retinoic acid receptor-related Orphan Receptor (ROR) gamma (t), the master regulator of human T Helper 17 (T(H)17) cells, into IND-enabling stage, while diligently seeking out appropriate partners with whom to commercialize our internal discoveries," said Dr. Gaweco.

SOURCE Innovimmune Biotherapeutics, Inc.