Advanced Life Sciences awarded research grant to study drug against stroke

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., Feb. 7 - Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. said it was awarded a phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to investigate the ability of its small molecule therapeutic, ALS-886, to reduce brain swelling leading to tissue damage following stroke in preclinical testing.

This potential treatment may help to prevent or limit the brain tissue damage associated with stroke, according to a company news release.

While a large number of therapeutic agents have been investigated for the treatment of stroke, only one drug is currently approved for marketing in the United States, the company said.

The grant, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is being conducted in collaboration with scientists at Duke University.

"This SBIR grant helps validate the promise of our early-stage pipeline products," Advanced Life Sciences chairman and chief executive officer Michael T. Flavin said in the release.

"SBIR grant funding is a non-dilutive financing mechanism which has enabled Advanced Life Sciences to develop early-stage drug candidates that form the basis of scientific collaboration opportunities, without diverting capital resources from our late-stage antibiotic program."

Advanced Life Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company based in Woodridge, Ill.

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