Sunnylife Pharma receives NIH grant to improve cancer drug therapeutics

INDIANAPOLIS – Sunnylife Pharma Inc., a drug discovery company focused on small molecule therapeutics, announced Wednesday (July 6) that the National Institutes of Health has awarded the company a grant under the Small Business Innovation Research program.

Support from the NIH will help the company make therapeutic molecules to block the activity of an HPV-specific protein important for its replication, preventing continued infection and the potential for development of cancer.

This Phase I award, for about $225,000, will be administered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to identify drug-like molecules that inhibit the HPV-16 E6 protein. E6 is essential for viral replication and instrumental in bypassing host cell defenses and preventing apoptosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, human papillomavirus affects about 79 million men and women in the U.S.

Zhijian Lu, Ph.D. and CEO of Sunnylife Pharma, said there are no effective medical therapies for HPV.

"Those with persistent infections of specific subtypes are at a high risk for several cancers that often metastasize and account for 5 percent of cancers worldwide," Lu said. "HPV vaccines are of no use to those already infected, are out of reach financially for economically disadvantaged countries, and it is unknown whether the vaccines will provide complete coverage over a long timeframe."

These funds will be invested alongside Sunnylife Pharma resources to help develop small molecule therapeutics against HPV. Alison Strack, Ph.D. and chief scientific officer, will be the principal investigator and work in close collaboration with Dr. Elliot J. Androphy and Kampen-Norins professor and chair, Department of Dermatology at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Sunnylife Pharma is located in the Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis.

About Sunnylife Pharma: Sunnylife Pharma develops small molecules for therapeutic use in the areas of cancer, virology, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Sunnylife Pharma is located in the Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis. www.sunnylifepharma.com

About the National Institutes of Health: NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov

About Purdue Research Park

The Purdue Research Park is the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The Purdue Research Park manages the Purdue Technology Centers in four sites in Indiana located in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany. The more than 260 companies located in the park network employ about 4,500 people. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org 

Disclaimer: Research reported in this news release is supported by the National Allergy and Infectious Disease Institute of the National Institutes of Health under the award number 1R43AI122541. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. 

Media contact: Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3040, casequin@prf.org 

Sunnylife Pharma: Alison Strack, 317-548-5218, alisonstrack@sunnylifepharma.com