Grant from the NIH NIDDK to Advance Collaboration to Develop Treatments for Inflammatory Disease

Grant from the NIH NIDDK to Advance Collaboration to Develop Treatments for Inflammatory Disease HOUSTON, TX, November 10, 2020 – Aviara Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on small-molecule integrin antagonists that enhance the effectiveness of cell therapies and treat inflammatory diseases, announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Award by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The company will collaborate with the Texas Heart Institute (THI) on promising research. The funding was made under Award no. R41DK127869, entitled “Selective Targeting of High-Affinity α4 Integrins as a Safe Treatment Strategy for IBD”, to develop a small molecule drug that targets inflammatory cell trafficking to the gut as a safe alternative to current treatments strategies in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

IBD, which mainly comprises Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, affects >3 million people in the US and is characterized by a chronic non-resolving inflammatory response in the intestinal mucosa. There are no cures, and in most cases, lifelong treatment is required. Current treatment strategies are either associated with significant safety concerns, like the development of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), or are associated with high numbers of primary and secondary non-responders to therapy.  The goal of the Aviara program funded by this Phase I NIDDK grant is to develop a transformative drug for IBD, that is not a biologic but rather a small molecule administered orally and is devoid of the safety concerns.

The company is working to develop such a drug, specifically a dual antagonist of α4β1 and α4β7 integrins, that is devoid of the safety concerns surrounding PML. “I am excited that Aviara has received this well-deserved funding for its program for developing novel therapies for IBD. I look forward to working with them on the development of novel antagonists that target receptors involved in inflammation, which may offer better long-term prognosis and improved risk-benefit profiles than those currently in use,” said Darren Woodside, Ph.D., Vice President for Research at THI.

NIDDK funding will support early-stage pre-clinical studies to demonstrate safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics in cellular and animal models. “The support from NIDDK will enable Aviara to apply its proprietary approach to the development of antagonists of integrin targets and allow it to progress toward submission of an IND for testing in IBD patients in the future,” said George Holland, Ph.D., President of Aviara Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

The funding was made under Award no. R41DK127869, entitled “Selective Targeting of High-Affinity α4 Integrins as a Safe Treatment Strategy for IBD”. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.