The University of Colorado Anschutz Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences’ Professor Daniel LaBarbera, PhD, has been awarded a $2.5 million Fast-Track Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute to develop a new therapy to target genes known to cause cancer that will spread to distant parts of the body, also known as metastatic cancer.
The grant was specifically awarded to Dr. LaBarbera’s Onconaut Therapeutics, a privately held therapeutics company developed through the University of Colorado Anschutz Innovations program. The company works in conjunction with the University’s Center for Drug Discovery, where LaBarbera serves as director. The Center is a comprehensive, university-wide research hub that integrates high-throughput discovery sciences, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, and in vivo pharmacology (live-model drug testing) to accelerate the translation of basic research into new therapeutics.
With the grant, LaBarbera and his team will advance the development of their own precision oncology drug that blocks CHD1L, a protein that drives tumor progression and metastasis in colorectal cancer and other types of cancer.
“This grant will enable us to advance our most promising CHD1L inhibitors toward Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies and preparation of an IND application with the Food and Drug Administration,” said LaBarbera. “We are on the cusp of drug development that precedes first-in-human clinical trials, marking a key milestone in translating new cancer therapies to patients.”
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death when men and women are combined. Each year, about 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more than 50,000 people will die. One in 24 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime. While treatment options are available if caught early, late-stage disease is difficult to manage, and patient outcomes are limited.
Onconaut’s lead CHD1L inhibitor was originally discovered and developed through The Center for Drug Discovery, exemplifying its mission to advance academic discoveries toward clinical impact. With that foundation, Onconaut developed a new class of CHD1L inhibitors that suppress tumor progression and metastatic spread, induce PARthanatos (a unique form of cell death) and enhance the effectiveness of current treatments. These precision oncology drugs offer new hope for patients with advanced colorectal cancer and other difficult-to-treat malignancies. LaBarbera and his team are advancing a complementary therapeutic strategy that includes combining CHD1L inhibitors with other drug therapies—including standard-of-care chemotherapy such as FOLFIRI and other targeted cancer drugs—to enhance treatment effectiveness in advanced colorectal cancer, with plans to expand development to additional cancers such as breast and lung during clinical advancement.
“The data we have generated to date is highly encouraging, showing pronounced tumor regression and increased survival in colorectal cancer models,” said LaBarbera. “This grant positions us to move closer to delivering new therapies that improve survival and quality of life for patients with metastatic disease.”