Radiopharmaceutical developer Navidea Biopharmaceuticals has received a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate an investigational immunotargeted treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma, based on its Manocept agent.
The fast-track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant will be used to fund in vitro and cell culture experiments, as well as nine preclinical animal studies to examine the safety of a new Manocept platform consisting of tilmanocept linked to doxorubicin, Navidea said.
If these phases are successful, the company expects to submit an investigational new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin phase I/II clinical testing of the agent in Kaposi's sarcoma patients.
The grant will be awarded in three parts over 2.5 years, with the first part providing Navidea with $232,000 for the in vitro and cell culture experiments, according to the firm.
