RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES, September 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPI) is pleased to announce they were recently awarded a $306,870 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, in collaboration with RTI International, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), to perform preclinical studies on a potential antiviral treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
HIV is still one of the most important pathogens affecting mankind, with some 31,800 cases reported in the US in 2022, according to the CDC, and over 1.2 million living with HIV in the USA. HIV can be managed with a cocktail of antiretroviral drugs that need to be taken regularly, turning it into a chronic disease. There is still a need for more drugs in the pipeline. With previous NIH R01 funding from NIAID and collaborations with Dr. Vadim Makarov (Research Center of Biotechnology RAS, Moscow) and Dr. Julie Nelson (UNC-Chapel Hill), as well as others, a new class of anti-HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) has been identified, amassing a considerable body of preclinical data.
CPI proposes further preclinical testing in combination with other FDA-approved HIV drugs, as well as developing a sustained release formulation in collaboration with RTI researchers Dr. Sara Maloney and Dr. Leah Johnson. This work would provide further confirmation that the novel chemical series is worthy of further investment as an HIV treatment. This would also provide a next generation of NNRTI to address potential drug resistance issues with current therapies.
Sean Ekins, CEO of CPI, added, “We are very grateful to NIAID for funding this SBIR to enable the collaboration between CPI and RTI. We look forward to moving this HIV drug candidate through these important further preclinical studies.”
Sean Ekins
Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
+1 215-687-1320
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