Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP) Portfolio Company receives $400,000 Research Grant from The National Cancer Institute to study a repurposed drug in treatment of Glioblastoma

SHREVEPORT, La., Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP) portfolio company Oleolive, Inc. has been awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase 1 $400,000 research grant from the National Cancer Institute for "Chemosensitization of Glioblastoma by Propentofylline." Drs. Nhan Tran and Joseph Loftus, investigators at Mayo Clinic and experts in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), collaborated with Oleolive on the proposal.

Propentofylline (PPF) was originally tested in multiple clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease but, although shown to be safe and effective, was not brought to the commercial market. PPF is considered a repurposed drug, defined as a drug developed for one indication and repositioned to treat another, in this case GBM. Repurposed drugs require less money and time for development and overall costs much less compared to research and development of new drugs.

GBM is a brain cancer with no effective therapeutics that claims the lives of over 15,000 Americans each year. GBM has poor clinical outcomes due to therapy-resistant tumor cells leading to recurrence; therefore, therapeutic strategies that enhance tumor cell chemosensitivity are essential for improved patient outcomes. This project will evaluate if PPF increases sensitization of GBM tumor cells to chemotherapy. This research could lead to a therapeutic strategy to extend survival for GBM patients beyond the current average of 1.25 years.

Oleolive, Inc. is a preclinical private biotechnology company founded in 2017, located in Shreveport, Louisiana. The company is developing therapeutics to treat a variety of human indications, including brain cancer, Alzheimer's disease, fibrosis, and traumatic blood loss in austere environments. The company has received more than $5M in STTRs and small business innovation research (SBIR) grant awards from multiple funding sources including the National Institute on Aging, the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Department of Defense. Oleolive also manufactures the dietary ingredient Oligen which contains compounds from Extra Virgin Olive Oil that promote healthy aging.

To learn more about Oleolive, Inc. please visit our website www.oleo.live, or contact kiley@oleo.live with inquiries.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R41CA268286. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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