Date: May 01, 2012 Source: Business Wire (
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ImmuVen (www.immuven.com) was awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant totaling $1.68 million from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIH) for continuing development of its therapeutic pipeline (IMV0123) against superantigens produced by methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcal aureus. This award continues the work previously supported by a successfully completed Phase I SBIR grant.
ImmuVen's biotherapeutic approach to neutralizing superantigen toxicity is uniquely positioned to intervene in deaths and morbidity caused by superantigen production in a host of S. aureus infections including pneumonia and endocarditis. The goal of this award is to provide support for bringing IMV0123 through a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in addition to completing major milestones in the preclinical development of the therapeutic.
About ImmuVen Inc.: ImmuVen is a biotechnology company with novel technology to discover and develop new biotherapeutics to treat infectious disease, cancer and autoimmune disorders. Based on proprietary technology developed in the laboratories of its scientific founders, ImmuVen's platform allows rapid selection and optimization of soluble TCR receptors with high affinity to important targets in infectious diseases, such as bacterial toxins and viral antigens presented on host cells, as well as specific markers on cancer cells or in autoimmune pathways. ImmuVen is located in EntepriseWorks incubator in the University of Illinois Research Park.
About the University of Illinois Research Park: The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides an environment where technology-based businesses can work with faculty and students to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative research. Located on campus, the Research Park is home to more than 90 companies, employing 1,400 people in high-technology careers. Publicly traded firms in the Research Park include: ADM, Abbott Laboratories, Caterpillar, Deere & Company, Eastman Chemical, Littelfuse, Neustar, Raytheon, Riverbed, SAIC, Sony, State Farm, and Yahoo. The Research Park is also home to 30+ startup companies that are commercializing technology. For more information, visit researchpark.illinois.edu.
