OmniNano Pharmaceuticals Awarded $2.7 Million SEED Product Development Research Grant from Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
The award will provide funding for IND-enabling studies of OmniNano’s lead drug candidate, ONP-001, a nano-codelivery formulation with two drugs of distinct mechanisms of action for treating pancreatic cancer
Missouri City, Texas – May 17, 2023 – OmniNano Pharmaceuticals LLC, a developmental stage start-up company, today announced that it has been awarded $2.7 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to develop ONP-001, OmniNano’s lead drug candidate, for treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).1 Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with a 5-year survival rate of just 12.5% and an overall median survival for PDAC of less than 12 months.2 Currently, no effective targeted therapy or immunotherapy is available for PDAC.
“We are very excited to be awarded this SEED product development research grant. It validates the value of the patented platform technology and comprehensive lab and animal works already performed,” says Guorong Ma, PhD, Chief Executive of OmniNano. “We are very appreciative to CPRIT and its review committee for recognizing our technology and proposed IND-enabling studies. This grant is critical for us to speed up our developmental work and facilitate further private investment. We are eager to advance our product, ONP-001, to the clinical trial phase to improve outcomes and extend life in pancreatic cancer patients, who are in desperate need of effective treatment.”
ONP-001 consists of novel polymeric micelles encapsulating two naturally occurring drug compounds: one is an FDA-approved chemotherapeutic drug, and the other is capable of depleting cancer stem cells and modulating tumor stroma to overcome drug resistance, enhance drug delivery efficiency, and display significant antitumor activity on preclinical PDAC models.
About the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
Created by the Texas Legislature and approved by a statewide vote in 2007, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) leads the Lone Star State’s fight against cancer. In 2019, Texas voters again voted overwhelmingly to support CPRIT with an additional $3 billion, for a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and prevention.
To date, the agency has awarded more than $3 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention, and product development research programs. CPRIT has also recruited 293 distinguished researchers to Texas, supported the establishment, expansion, or relocation of 56 companies to Texas, and supported nearly 9 million prevention services reaching all 254 counties in Texas. www.cprit.state.tx.us
About OmniNano Pharmaceuticals LLC
OmniNano Pharmaceuticals is a developmental stage, start-up company, based in the greater Houston area, Texas. Built upon a patented nano-drug delivery platform technology that co-delivers two therapeutical agents with two distinctively different mechanisms of action, OmniNano’s overall goal is to significantly improve the efficacy of chemotherapy treatments while simultaneously reducing toxicity for treating solid tumors. Currently, it is focusing on advancing its lead drug candidate, ONP-001, for treating pancreatic cancer (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, PDAC).
Contact: Guorong Ma, PhDChief Executive Manager (901)446-7585Info@omninanopharma.com1. https://www.cprit.state.tx.us/news-events/articles/cprit-awards-more-than-73-million-to-texas-institutions-and-companies-in-the-fight-against-cancer/, last accessed on May 17, 2023.
2. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html, last accessed on May 17, 2023.