MusiQ Bio, a startup built around UT Southwestern research, has been awarded about $2.59 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to advance an experimental cancer immunotherapy.
UT Southwestern announced the award Sept. 24. CPRIT's database dates it to Aug. 19 and lists $2,590,526 as pending contract negotiation.
The project, called MUSIC, uses ultrasound and tiny gas-filled bubbles to help deliver an immune-activating molecule to targeted cells. Researchers at the Dallas medical center are developing the approach with MusiQ Bio, which was co-founded by scientists Sina Khorsandi and Jacques Lux.
The grant is intended to support additional preclinical research before the technology can be tested in people. Results described by UT Southwestern so far come from animal models, including studies of breast cancer and melanoma.
