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ARTICLE | Company News

AlphaCore Pharma LLC, Axerion Therapeutics, Optimum Therapeutics LLC, NIH cancer, cardiovascular, neurology news

December 10, 2012 8:00 AM UTC

NIH selected three projects for 2012 to receive no-cost access to NIH development contractor resources under its Bridging Interventional Development Gaps (BrIDGs) program. The program aims to help projects from academic institutions, not-for-profits and Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer-eligible businesses that have a "demonstrated efficacy in a disease model" but lack private resources or have "hit a roadblock and need additional expertise" to reach the clinic.

The projects include tumor penetrating microparticles from Optimum to treat peritoneal cancers and assays to detect antibodies against ACP-501, a recombinant human lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) from AlphaCore in Phase I testing to treat atherosclerosis. The third project is a reticulon 4 receptor ( RTN4R; NGR) decoy that binds reticulon 4 ( RTN4; NOGO-A; NOGO) and two other NGR ligands known to prevent the process of regrowth, in development by Axerion to treat spinal cord injury. ...