AcuraStem received a $225,000 Phase I SBIR grant from the National Institute on Aging to continue research on laboratory models of age-associated ALS and evaluate molecular methods for creating motor neurons that better reproduce the disease state in aged patients.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development announced that the California Competes Tax Credit committee approved $69 million in tax credits for 90 companies projected to create 6,236 jobs and invest $1.2 billion in new capital equipment across California.
The award recognizes Dr. Ichida's "pioneering work to convert patients’ skin cells into disease-affected neural cells, enabling them to screen thousands of drug-like compounds in search of potential therapeutics that could slow or stop ALS."
AcuraStem's co-founders discovered PIKFYVE as a therapeutic target for ALS and FTD in a 2018 Nature Medicine project led by Dr. Justin Ichida. AcuraStem developed the iNeuroRx platform, added ASO expertise, and established a treatment pipeline.
