NIH Awards Sorrento $2.6 Million For Bispecific Antibodies
By Cyndi Root
Sorrento Therapeutics announced in a press release that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided funding for the development of bispecific antibodies. Two small business grants from the NIH will allow Sorrento to use its antibody conjugation technology platform to develop antibodies for two of the NIH’s anti-bacterial immunotherapies. Sorrento's pipeline also shows promise in anti-infectives and auto-immune diseases.
Henry Ji, President and CEO of Sorrento, said that while his company is focused on bring oncology agents Cynviloq and resiniferatoxin (RTX) to market, earmarked funding from the NIH will allow the company to explore therapies for drug resistant bacterial infections. He said, “Together with our academic collaborators Dr. Voyich and Dr. Wozniak, we will develop much needed anti-bacterial therapies against drug-resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens.”
NIH Grants
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the NIH, awarded a Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) grant to Sorrento. The award supports preclinical development of human bispecific antibody therapeutics to prevent and treat Staphylococcus aureus infections, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Dr. Jovanka Voyich at Montana State is the academic partner for the project. The two-year grant provides $1 million per year.
NIAID also provided Sorrento with a Phase 1 STTR grant for preclinical development of novel anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa mAb immunotherapy or an antibody-mediated targeted antibiotic delivery vehicle. The grant from NIAID titled, "Anti-Pseudomonas Immunotherapy and Targeted Drug Delivery," co-funds Sorrento and Dr. Daniel Wozniak at Ohio State University. Funds are provided for two years in the amount of $300,000 per year.
Sorrento's Antibody Platform
Sorrento's antibody platform targets the MRSA system controlling the production of toxins. Neutralizing auto-inducing peptides (AIPs) disrupts bacterial communication, minimizing Staph infections. As a therapeutic option for the prevention and treatment of P. aeruginosa infections, Sorrento will investigate anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa mAb immunotherapy or other delivery vehicles. Agents are being investigated as standalone treatments or part of a drug cocktail.
About Sorrento Therapeutics
Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. is an oncology company focused on disease treatments and pain therapeutics with small molecules and mono- and bispecific therapeutic antibodies. The company has a library of monoclonal antibodies and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), antibodies attached to biologically active drugs.