According to the National Kidney Foundation, about one in ten people will develop a kidney stone. Oxalo Therapeutics, a University of Chicago (UC) biotech startup, is developing a drug to treat and prevent kidney stones. The startup is run by assistant professor of medicine at UC, Dr. Hatim Hassan, and a Chicago Booth MBA student, Yang Zheng.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Oxalo Therapeutics a $2.3 million grant for a first-of-its-kind drug. Continued development of Oxalo’s ground-breaking therapy would not be possible without this funding award, which is part of the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The SBIR/STTR program supports scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy.
Oxalo also received assistance from IUIN SBIR consultant, Anna Lisa Somera, while preparing their funding proposal. Thanks to a grant from the EDA Economic Adjustment Assistance program, eligible companies can also apply to receive free counseling to assist with SBIR/STTR funding applications.
This is not the first time Oxalo Therapeutics has received funding for their biotechnology startup. In December 2017, Oxalo received $250,000 from the UC Innovation Fund and $25,000 from Booth’s New Venture Challenge in May. Most recently, Oxalo Therapeutics was awarded $75,000 and named a Platinum Winner of MassChallenge, the global nonprofit startup accelerator and competition which helps startups to grow their businesses. Oxalo was one of 26 Finalists from the 2018 MassChallenge Boston cohort of 128 companies, which were selected from a pool of 1,600 applicants.
Sources: The Oxalo Therapeutics STTR award was originally reported by Crain’s Chicago Business. For more information about Oxalo Therapeutics, visit their website at https://www.oxalotherapeutics.com/.