IBRI, Roche name inaugural Quantum Leap Award winner
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The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute and Roche Diagnostics on Thursday announced Indianapolis-based NĒRx BioSciences Inc. as the first winner of the Quantum Leap Award.
The award was announced last year with the goal of helping startups bring their innovations closer to commercialization.
NĒRx is working to develop new anticancer therapeutics specifically for the treatment of lung and ovarian cancer. The IBRI said the therapeutics are “expected to dramatically enhance patient response to therapy and ultimately overall survival.”
By winning the Quantum Leap Award, NĒRx will receive a $50,000 cash prize to support its research, as well as access to up to two wet lab biology benches rent free for one calendar year at the IBRI headquarters in the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indy.
The startup will also have access to a coworking space with a conference room and will be able to participate in the IBRI’s Axis Mentoring Program.
“Moving NĒRx’s headquarters to the IBRI will provide us access to specialized equipment and resources, as well as the opportunity for collaborations and networking opportunities with top-notch scientists and entrepreneurs,” Chief Operating Officer Katie Pawelczak said in a news release. “We believe this partnership will aid in accelerating commercial readiness of our lead program targeting replication protein A and enable continued development of our pipeline.”
The startup will move into the IBRI’s incubator space later this month.