New cancer treatment aimed at the DNA damage sensor Replication Protein A (RPA)
Official title: Targeting the DNA Damage Response sensor Replication Protein A for first inclass cancer therapy
Funded at Nerx Biosciences, INC. · NIH-11159677 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A company is creating a new cancer medicine that blocks a DNA repair sensor called RPA to help kill tumors that depend on DNA repair.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Nerx Biosciences, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Indianapolis, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $921,320 |
| NIH project number | 5R44CA287693-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11159677 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with cancers showing high replication stress or known defects in DNA repair pathways, or tumors that have stopped responding to current treatments.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors do not rely on the DNA damage response or who have other conditions that increase the risk of drug toxicity are less likely to benefit.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, researchers are trying to develop drugs that block RPA, a protein cancer cells use to sense and respond to DNA damage. They will design and optimize molecules and test them in laboratory systems and animal models before any human testing. The approach aims to exploit weaknesses in tumors that have DNA repair defects so cancer cells die while sparing normal cells. If preclinical results are promising, the company would move toward early human trials at selected clinical sites.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could become a first-in-class targeted therapy that kills tumors by exploiting their DNA repair weaknesses.
How similar studies have gone: Other DNA repair–targeting drugs like PARP inhibitors have helped some patients, but directly targeting RPA is a novel and largely untested approach in people.
Where this research is happening
-
Nerx Biosciences, INC.
Indianapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pawelczak, Katherine — Nerx Biosciences, INC.
- Study coordinator: Pawelczak, Katherine
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.