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Soligenix Announces $150,000 NIH Small Business Innovation Research Award Supporting Evaluation of SGX942 in Pediatric Indications
PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Soligenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on
About this update from Soligenix, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Soligenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need, announced today that the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Soligenix a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) of approximately $150,000 to support the evaluation of SGX942 (dusquetide) in pediatric indications. This award will facilitate the assessment of SGX942 safety in juvenile animals, supporting future studies in pediatric populations, including oral mucositis indications in pediatric patients undergoing stem cell transplants and treatments for head and neck cancer. \nInnate Defense Regulators (IDRs) regulate the innate immune system to simultaneously reduce inflammation, eliminate infection and enhance tissue healing. Dusquetide is Soligenix's lead clinical IDR candidate. IDRs have no direct antibiotic activity but modulate host responses, increasing survival after infections with a broad range of bacterial Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens including both antibiotic sensitive and resistant strains, as well as accelerating resolution of tissue damage following exposure to a variety of agents including bacterial pathogens, trauma and chemo- or radiation-therapy. Soligenix has previously reported the results of a Phase 2 clinical study using dusquetide in the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy (CRT). In addition to demonstrating a reduction in the median duration of severe oral mucositis in these patients, dusquetide treatment was also associated with a reduced incidence of reported infections and an increased rate of tumor resolution. A pivotal, Phase 3, multinational study in oral mucositis is currently underway in the US and Europe, with an interim analysis expected in the September 2019 timeframe.\n\"We are appreciative of the continued support provided by NIDCR for the SGX942 development program,\" stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soligenix. \"We believe this SBIR grant award further validates dusquetide's novel mechanism of action, as well as the posit...