Acomhal Research Inc., a pioneering cancer research start-up founded by scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has recently secured $305,000 in funding. This funding comes from the Virginia Tech Carilion Seed Fund, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, and angel investors.

With this new wave of grants and investments, Acomhal Research is nearing a million dollars in total funding. This financial boost supports the development of new therapeutics aimed at combating drug-resistant cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme and metastatic diseases, including triple-negative breast cancer.

The recent $305,000 award comprises $150,000 from the Virginia Tech Carilion Seed Fund, $100,000 from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) GAP Funds Program, and $55,000 from the CommonWealth Angels investment group. These funds add to the $625,000 the company has received in Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants over the past four years. The VIPC was formerly known as the Center for Innovative Technology.

“We need to rethink how we treat cancer. Resistance and recurrence result from distinct mechanisms to the original tumor,” said Samy Lamouille, Acomhal Research’s co-founder and chief executive officer, and an assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “Having spent over 20 years in the cancer research and drug development field, I am very excited about the direction Acomhal is taking in development of our novel therapeutic approach.”

Cancer remains the second-leading cause of death in the United States, claiming over half a million lives annually. Many cancer types present significant treatment challenges, particularly a population of “cancer stem cells” within tumors that are highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. Even a small number of these cancer stem cells can rapidly fuel the growth of new tumors if they are not eradicated.

Acomhal Research is developing a novel peptide drug that targets and kills cancer stem cells, thereby preventing them from seeding new tumors. This drug works by competing with a protein, connexin-43, for binding sites on cancer stem cells’ microtubules. These hollow protein pipes are essential for cell transport, growth, and movement.

Research by Lamouille has shown that when connexin-43 is unable to bind to microtubules, metastatic cancer cells become less invasive. This reduces the ability of cancer to spread, in addition to eliminating cancer stem cells.

Lamouille and Robert Gourdie, the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Eminent Scholar in Heart Reparative Medicine Research and director of the Center for Vascular and Heart Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, co-founded Acomhal Research five years ago. Initially focused on glioblastoma, a brain cancer often lethal within two years for most patients, the company quickly gained recognition for its innovation and entrepreneurship by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Universities.

Acomhal has since expanded its focus to include breast cancer and is now researching the use of its peptide against colon, lung, and pancreatic cancers.

“With the help of local investors in Virginia, and through continued collaborations at Virginia Tech and Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, our goal is now to pursue human clinical trials and directly impact patients’ lives in our fight against this devastating disease,” Lamouille said.