News
Navrogen Awarded National Cancer Institute Grant to Develop Antagonists to Treat Humoral Immuno-Oncology (HIO) Positive Cancers
Cheyney, PA, September 8, 2025 – Navrogen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specialized in developing antibody-based therapies for cancer, today announces a grant award from the National Cancer Institute to advance the development of antagonists to treat Humoral Immuno-Oncology (HIO) positive cancers. HIO-positive cancers are characterized by the production of HIO factors, which are tumor-derived proteins that suppress antibody-mediated immune responses. These factors block the engagement of tumor-bound antibodies to natural killer (NK) cells through the CD16a Fc-receptor, thereby impairing humoral immune-mediated killing of tumor cells. Navrogen’s proprietary research has identified four distinct HIO factors responsible for this form of immunosuppression, with one or more of these factors co-expressed within a patient’s tumor.
The newly awarded grant will specifically support the development of antagonists against the HIO-2 factor, which is prominently expressed in several difficult-to-treat cancers, including triple-negative breast, colorectal, non-small cell lung, and pancreatic cancers.
“Over years of discovery research, Navrogen scientists have uncovered this novel HIO cancer paradigm and developed a broad approach to characterize HIO factors and design therapeutic agents aimed at overcoming their immunosuppression,” said Dr. Luigi Grasso, Chief Scientific Officer of Navrogen. “This peer-reviewed grant not only validates the HIO paradigm but also enables us to further advance therapeutic strategies designed to treat patients with HIO-positive cancers.”
The research reported in this press release is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1R03CA302674-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About Navrogen
Navrogen is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery of tumor-produced Humoral Immuno-Oncology (HIO) factors that are associated with suppressed humoral immunity, poor prognosis and limited therapeutic response of immune-mediated anti-cancer therapies. The company’s mission is to develop best and first-in-class agents that can overcome the immunosuppressive effects of HIO factors by employing its proprietary screening and engineering technologies as well as diagnostic assays that can identify patients whose tumors produce HIO factors to advise physicians on therapeutic options. For more information, please visit www.navrogen.com.
Contacts:
Nicholas Nicolaides
President and Chief Executive Officer
610-399-2717
Steven Kyriakos
VP of Finance and Operations
610-399-2718