BUFFALO, NY, Sep. 29, 2009 (Marketwire) --
BUFFALO, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 09/29/09 -- Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI) today announced that it has been awarded a $5.3 million Grand Opportunities (GO) grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 from the Office of the Director and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will fund studies of molecular mechanisms by which Protectan CBLB502 mitigates gastrointestinal (GI) damage from radiation exposure. Cleveland BioLabs will lead a consortium of collaborators on this project, including Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Attagene, Inc.
"It is an honor to win such a highly competitive grant," commented Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Cleveland BioLabs, Senior Vice President of Basic Science at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Principle Investigator on the grant. "We are very pleased with the NIH's recognition of the strength of our program and the importance of CBLB502 as a radiomitigator. This award is indicative of the success of the unique partnership between Cleveland BioLabs and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, which also involves a network of other academic and commercial collaborators. The grant will not only support our advancement of Protectan CBLB502 towards completion of a Biologic License Application for Acute Radiation Syndrome, but also further our study of Protectan CBLB502 as a mitigator of radiation-induced GI damage in medical settings."
The NIH has established the Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities or "GO" grants program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The GO grants program supports large-scale research projects that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multi and interdisciplinary research teams. The initiative was established to seek novel approaches in areas that address specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways.
About CBLB502
CBLB502 is a derivative of a microbial protein, which has demonstrated the capacity to reduce injury from acute stresses, such as radiation, in animal models. CBLB502 mobilizes several tissue protective mechanisms, including inhibition of programmed cell death (apoptosis), reduction of oxidative damage and induction of regeneration-promoting cytokines.
CBLB502 is being developed under the U.S.
