RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (RTP) – August 15, 2014 – 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, has been awarded a Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant in the amount of $159,000 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dignify is developing novel pharmaceutical treatments for bladder and bowel dysfunction which will significantly improve the quality-of-life for individuals that rely on bladder catheters and bowel programs for voiding.  The Company estimates the worldwide market potential for its lead product, DTI-100 for people with spinal cord injury, will be approximately $400 million annually.  Dignify Therapeutics is believed to be the only company developing pharmaceuticals to provide a rapid, on-demand, drug-induced voiding as a therapeutic strategy.

“Affirmation by leading scientists who serve on the NIH review committees provides an important validation of the innovative approach that Dignify Therapeutics is developing to treat this severe unmet medical need.  These funds will support the ongoing development of our lead product candidate, DTI-100, through the IND approval process and into clinical trials,” said Karl Thor, President and Chief Scientific Officer.  “This SBIR award, together with future non-dilutive funding, will augment the Company’s current efforts to raise up to $3 million from private investors to develop DTI-100 through Phase II clinical trials.”

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 and 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.  Funding to the Company has been provided by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, an entity primarily funded by the State of North Carolina.  Dignify is also a member of the Blackstone Entrepreneur Network and 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