September 8, 2017 (Coralville, IA) – Viewpoint Molecular Targeting, LLC, a University of Iowa start-up pharmaceutical company that has developed a novel therapy and companion diagnostic for metastatic melanoma, announced that it has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Contract Award valued at $2 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to support pre-clinical studies of its lead product, VMT-01.
The company has successfully secured $900K in previously awarded Phase I SBIR grants and contracts. “We value the NCI’s continued recognition of the importance of our products and its support of our development program,” said Edwin Sagastume, Viewpoint’s lead engineer and a University of Iowa graduate. “These funds will accelerate our product development helping us bring our product forward into clinical trials.”
“This award is an excellent next step in advancing Viewpoint’s new therapy to the clinical stage,” said Viewpoint’s Chief Science Officer Michael Schultz. “We could not be more excited about our progress.”
About Viewpoint Molecular Targeting
Viewpoint Molecular Targeting develops therapies and diagnostics for cancer, with a focus on metastatic melanoma. It’s lead product, VMT-01, is an injectable radiopharmaceutical. The product can be used to determine the location and extent of cancerous tumors in the body and then can be used again to direct a lethal dose of radiation precisely to cancer cells in the body. This represents a new class of drugs called theranostics.
Viewpoint has successfully secured over $3.2 million through NIH SBIR grants, Iowa Economic Development Authority Demonstration Funds, Innovation Iowa Corporation Matching Funds, and contracts to pharmaceutical industry partners. The company aims to begin clinical trials for its lead product within two years and has other products in the development pipeline.
About NIH SBIR Program
The NIH SBIR program funds early stage small businesses that are seeking to commercialize innovative biomedical technologies. This competitive program helps small business participate in federal research and development to develop life-saving technologies and create jobs.
Viewpoint’s products are currently under development and therefore not approved by the FDA