PROVIDENCE – The Slater Technology Fund, along with private angel investors, will invest up to $600,000 in Alcinous Pharmaceuticals, the nonprofit seed fund announced on Tuesday.
Alcinous was started by University of Rhode Island graduate students at the school’s College of Pharmacy by Nicholas DaSilva, Kenneth Rose and Benjamin Barlock, in 2017. The company is focused on development of PARP inhibitors, molecules that disable DNA repair mechanisms in cancerous cells.
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“Alcinous has taken a very smart approach to harnessing big data to design and develop cancer therapies,” said Thorne Sparkman, managing director of the Slater Technology Fund. “Under the guidance of Geraldine Harriman, [co-founder and chief scientific officer at HotSpot Therapeutics, and former vice president of Nimbus Therapeutics,] I believe the team is well-positioned to build an impressive armamentarium of safe and effective drugs against aggressive forms of cancer.”
The company is expected to use the seed funding to conduct validation studies of its lead inhibitor, a critical first step before undertaking preclinical and clinical studies, Slater said.
“Slater’s funding represents a tremendous vote of confidence,” said DaSilva, who is the company’s CEO. “More than just an investment, Slater’s support is an invaluable partnership and source of mentorship in order to bring this potentially life-saving drug to patients.”
