Subcontract awarded to Velesco Pharma for new beta-thalassemia drug

The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) has awarded Velesco Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. with a subcontract for analytical method development, manufacturing clinical supplies, and testing the stability of an investigational drug for the treatment for Beta-Thalassemia, a blood disorder that reduces the production of proteins that carry oxygen to cells throughout the body.

The subcontract award of $350,000 is fully funded by NCATS through its Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program. The funds were awarded under a subcontract from Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., prime contractor for the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. TRND staff select qualified contract research organizations to provide services supporting certain TRND drug development projects. The goal is to accelerate translation of promising therapeutics for treating rare and neglected diseases.

Beta-Thalassemia continues to be a major public health problem in many parts of the world. Through TRND, NCATS seeks to rapidly advance this potential new treatment option to the clinic.

Velesco Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. is a privately held contract development and manufacturing organization with a focus on providing drug product services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies with early stage drug development programs.

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. for the National Cancer Institute, is dedicated to improving human health through discovery and innovation in the biomedical sciences, focusing on cancer, AIDS, and emerging infectious diseases.