PITTSBURGH (PRWEB) March 21, 2024 – Duo Oncology, a life science company developing ultra-small cancer nanomedicines, is pleased to announce that it is one of twenty companies selected for the National Institutes of Health’s Entrepreneurial Immersion Course (I-Corps). The I-Corps program provides Duo’s team with additional funding and resources to conduct customer discovery interviews and de-risk its pipeline. These customer discovery efforts complement ongoing research supported by a small business grant award from the National Cancer Institute and will help Duo perform studies with a high impact on clinical translation.
Duo’s work in the I-Corps program will focus on its second pipeline therapy, DUO-307 – an immunotherapy nanomedicine that pairs a proprietary polymer-conjugated gemcitabine prodrug (PGEM) with an immune-modulating chemokine receptor antagonist (CCRa). Studies in multiple mouse models show DUO-307 shrinking and clearing established tumors, both as a monotherapy and as a regimen with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, which is a standard of care in lung, bladder, and other metastatic cancers. However, unlike other medicines that turn immunologically “cold” tumors “hot”, the small size of DUO-307’s nanomedicine chemistry allows it to travel deep into the tumor and act on formerly inaccessible regions of the tumor immune microenvironment.
“We are delighted that NIH values Duo Oncology’s pipeline and has selected our team for this elite program,” said Sam Rothstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Duo Oncology. “Over the next eight weeks, Duo’s team will continue connecting with leading oncologists to prepare a top-notch development program for its second nanomedicine, which expands our pipeline to address new cancer indications.”
For more information about Duo Oncology and its ongoing nanomedicine development programs, visit DuoOncology.com.
The I-Corps supplement is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R41CA285174. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About Duo Oncology: Duo Oncology’s mission is to redefine the treatment landscape for patients with stroma-rich tumors. The company develops high-potency nanomedicines that penetrate through a tumor’s stromal tissue to reach growing cancer cells and extend the lives of, or even cure, cancer patients. Duo’s core innovation is a patent pending chemistry that ties together self-assembling DNA-like bases with environmentally sensitive linkers to form ultrasmall nanomedicines, which carry potent combination payloads all the way to growing cancer cells deep within tumors. The company’s lead nanomedicine (DUO-207, now in IND-enabling studies) treats solid tumors that respond to paclitaxel or gemcitabine therapy, such as pancreatic, biliary, and ovarian cancers. By using known active drug chemistries, DUO-207 offers a streamlined, de-risked development pathway that allows it to begin helping patients years sooner than bespoke therapies. Additional pipeline products harness novel active agents in powerful nano-immunotherapies and precision medicines.
Duo Oncology media contact:
Sam Rothstein, Cofounder and CEO, email: srothstein@DuoOncology.com
