NEW YORK, June 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RUMI Scientific, Inc. (“RUMI”) a developer of therapies for rare and neurodegenerative diseases using its high throughput organoid phenotypic screening platform, today announced it has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health totaling $1.9 MM.
RUMI’s organoid platform utilizes an unbiased phenotypic approach to target drug discovery for CNS and other diseases. In addition to its lead candidate in preclinical development for Huntington’s disease, Rumi is leveraging its platform to identify potential new therapeutic approaches aimed at treating various genetic forms of autism and peripheral diseases such as chronic kidney disease. The Phase II award will fund RUMI’s ongoing work to model later stages of brain development relevant to developing therapeutics for autism and other neurological disorders.
The grant funding, the first Phase II SBIR award the Company has received since its inception, focuses on the development of an in vitro tool to mimic physiological and pathological neuronal networks of forebrain neurons termed cerebroids. The project brings together an interdisciplinary team to develop an innovative solution that will accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic candidates for autism, which has seen limited innovation despite remaining an area of major unmet medical need. To-date, the Company has received a total of more than $4 million in non-dilutive technology and grant funding.
“This grant funding is an important milestone in the continued evolution of RUMI and will jumpstart our discovery and development efforts in autism,” said Allen Fienberg, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of RUMI. “We are continuing to advance our lead program, an orally-administered BRD9 inhibitor for Huntington’s Disease, toward clinical development and look forward to expanding our CNS efforts to include work in the autism space as a result of this non-dilutive capital.”
About Rumi Scientific
Rumi Scientific’s mission is to identify and develop novel therapeutics for rare and neurodegenerative diseases by employing its revolutionary synthetic human tissue platform to produce more predictive data leading to a safe and faster clinical trial process. The Company’s lead program is an orally available bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9) inhibitor in lead optimization for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. Founded in 2016, Rumi licensed foundational technology from The Rockefeller University developed by co-founders Ali H. Brivanlou, Ph.D., and Eric D. Siggia, Ph.D. For more information on Rumi Scientific, please see www.rumiscientific.com or contact info@rumiscientific.com.
Rumi Scientific:
Allen Fienberg, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
allen@rumiscientific.com
Fred Etoc, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
fred@rumiscientific.com
