23 August 2019 - - US-based Scioto Biosciences, a preclinical stage company developing innovative therapies to transform the delivery of microbiome therapeutics, are a recipient of a Phase II SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health for USD 2.3m, the company said.

The Phase II award is to continue to support the research with Scioto's collaborator, the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The funding will be used to develop Scioto's proprietary therapeutic SB-121, which is a unique formulation used to deliver healthy, activated probiotic or beneficial bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract.

Scioto's strategy of delivering healthy bacteria to the GI tract can be used to treat a number of different disorders ranging from infectious diseases to disorders effecting the gut-brain axis, such as autism and depression.

The grant will start in August 2019 and last for two years. The funding is provided through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Scioto co-founders Drs. Gail Besner, Steve Goodman and Michael Bailey will all serve as co-PIs on a grant subaward to the AWRI.

Based in Indianapolis, Scioto Biosciences is a preclinical stage company developing innovative therapies devoted to having a transformative impact on the delivery of live bacterial therapeutics.

Scioto was founded in 2017 as a partnership between Indiana business accelerator, Monon Bioventures and AWRI with whom the company has a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement.

The Scioto Activated Bacterial Therapeutic Platform has the potential to enhance efficacy wherever LBTs are used such as gastrointestinal health, diabetes, neurological disorders, alternatives to in-feed antibiotics (in livestock) and others.

Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on US News and World Report's 2019-20 list of "Best Children's Hospitals," Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of America's largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric health care systems providing wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children and adolescents, as well as adult patients with congenital disease.

As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children's faculty train the next generation of pediatricians, scientists and pediatric specialists.

The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities in the US, supporting basic, clinical, translational and behavioral health research.

The AWRI houses a Good Manufacturing Practices facility for producing gene-and cell-based therapies; one of the largest biorepositories in North America; and comprehensive genome sequencing and analysis capabilities.