Signum Biosciences Awarded Phase II SBIR Grant by the NIH for the Treatment of Rosace

[Barbara]

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/...ource=r_health

Signum Biosciences Awarded Phase II SBIR Grant by the NIH for the Treatment of Rosacea

Posted on: Friday, 11 September 2009, 15:01 CDT
MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Signum Biosciences, Inc has been awarded a $1.6 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases (NIAID) to continue the development of its topical STM (Signal Transduction Modulator) anti-inflammatory technology for the treatment of inflammatory skin disease.
In 2008, NIH/NIAID awarded Signum a SBIR Phase I grant to establish this novel class of anti-inflammatories. SBIR Phase II grants enable SBIR Phase I grantees to further develop their technology and prepare it for commercialization. Signum will use the Phase II grant to fund preclinical development of Signum's lead drug candidates for rosacea. Rosacea is a common, chronic cutaneous condition afflicting millions of individuals. FDA approved treatments have yielded mixed results, often leaving patients with significant levels of facial redness. Successful pharmaceutical development of STM anti-inflammatories will provide an important additional, and potentially better, therapeutic option for people suffering from rosacea redness.
The objective of the Phase II grant is to be granted an IND and commence Phase I clinical trials. "We are proud to have been awarded this grant and to have the reviewers at the NIH validate our technology. Building on our Phase I achievements, Signum is dedicated to developing its STM anti-inflammatory platform as novel therapeutics for rosacea as well as several other dermal skin disorders", stated Maxwell Stock, President and Chief Operating Officer.
Signum Biosciences is a private biotechnology company dedicated to developing small-molecule therapeutics derived from its Signal Transduction Modulation platform. Signum is a pioneer of this new technology which modulates targets rather than just switching-them on or off. Through research on protein networks that control biological systems, Signum is developing therapeutic candidates for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and several skin conditions. Signum's STM technology provides many opportunities for the development of novel consumer products and pharmaceutical candidates. For more information please visit the Signum website: www.signumbiosciences.com.

[TheMediumDog]

This is really interesting. Thanks Barbara.

[naun]

Barbara,

You always post such interesting finds. This is really intriguing. It is so nice to think that better, new treatments could be in our futures.

Thanks,

Naun

[MissD]

This sounds really great. At this rate I have little doubt that I'll see a treatment for rosacea that's just as good or better as laser and more affordable in my lifetime, even if it takes a while to get approved. Thanks Barbara!

[Steve95301]

Excellent information, Barbara, thanks. The mechanism of action is explained well in this PDF. (Although, the before/after photos are not impressive.)

[MissD]

Originally Posted by Steve95301

Excellent information, Barbara, thanks. The mechanism of action is explained well in this PDF. (Although, the before/after photos are not impressive.)

Pretty cool. Although I'm not even going to pretend I understand all that, I think the photos are pretty decent for only a 4 weeks' time.

[TheMediumDog]

Note that at the end they point out that with a few chemical modifications, it has the potential to become more potent - for the pharmaceutical. Those piccies are just for the 'cosmetic' grade.

[DukeCity]

Would it be possible to get one of the founders of Signum Bio on here for a Q&A??? I checked out their website and it looks as there are 3 brothers who founded and currently run this private Company... perhaps they would be pleased to know of the interest in their research/product development and how many of us are waiting and praying for a better TX that actually works well and or cure for rosacea.

[TheMediumDog]

Came across this while marking up the Gallo/resources thingy. It gives an idea of the extent of the role G-protein coupled receptors are playing. Namely, pretty big. Most of the inflammatory mediators signaled by cathelicidin are going through that route.

http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v1...l#figure-title

So modulating them looks like it would be a fairly big deal.

*

DukeCity wrote:

Would it be possible to get one of the founders of Signum Bio on here for a Q&A???

I'm not sure how useful that would be. I expect there would also be limits on what they'd want to say in public, because it might compromise the commercial viability of their products.

It might be interesting to get info on when this thing is going to be released in Japan/to ask for some kind of notification.

[nbapoker]

wow. I am loving these new developments in the last couple years....
hopefully the research pace continues and maybe even builds up as more competitors try to tap into the rosacea market need. There seems to be big interest and acknowledgement of a need.

Whats the latest sansrosa status, BTW?