RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (RTP) – October 11, 2016 – Dignify Therapeutics LLC, a drug development company focused on restoring bladder and bowel control to people with spinal injury, spina bifida, and other neurological conditions, received three NIH SBIR/STTR grants in the third quarter totaling $3.1 million. The grants were awarded by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute on Aging. The grants support preclinical development of Dignify’s lead product, DTI-100, in preparation for a Phase I clinical study, as well as studies to identify 2nd generation compounds and alternative formulations, through a collaboration with the Division of Pharmacoengineering & Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Dignify is developing novel pharmaceutical treatments for bladder and bowel dysfunction which will significantly improve the quality of life for individuals who rely on bladder catheters and bowel programs for voiding. The Company estimates the worldwide market potential for DTI-100 for people with spinal cord injury will be approximately $400 million annually.
“We are very appreciative of these awards and continued support from the NIH” said Dignify CSO, Dr. Karl Thor. “NIH support is particularly valuable to a small company that is attempting to develop first-ever therapeutics. The insight gained from our pioneering, NIH-supported studies to develop an “on-demand, rapid-onset, short-duration, drug-induced, voiding therapy” will advance our lead drug development program and ultimately bring a safe, effective, and convenient voiding therapy to quadriplegic and paraplegic individuals to treat this severe, unmet, medical need.”
About Dignify Therapeutics LLC
Founded by a team of serial entrepreneurs who are internationally-recognized scientists and clinicians, Dignify Therapeutics’ mission is to provide safe, effective, practical and convenient, “on-demand” pharmaceutical agents to treat bladder and bowel voiding dysfunctions, using a repositioning strategy of drug discovery that the team has successfully implemented multiple times over the last 20 years in the fields of urology and gastroenterology. The Company is funded by venture capitalists (RA Capital and Eshelman Ventures), an angel investor, loans from the North Carolina Biotech Center, as well as other grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the One NC Small Business Program. Dignify, a member of the Blackstone Entrepreneur Network, is located at the First Flight Venture Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
PRESS CONTACT
Dignify Therapeutics
Benny Ward
P.O. Box 13169 – 2 Davis Drive
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Phone: 919-491-0369
Email: bward@dignifytherapeutics.com
Website: https://dignifytherapeutics.com
