NIH Awards Immuven $1.68 Million for MRSA Therapeutics

ImmuVen 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-IND meeting with the 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.