Funding will support preclinical evaluation of STM-01 and STM-03 for Friedreich’s Ataxia.
Secretome Therapeutics announced today that it has been awarded a $400,000 research grant from the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), a leading global patient advocacy organization dedicated to accelerating the development of treatments for Friedreich’s ataxia (FA).
The grant will support preclinical studies evaluating Secretome’s lead asset STM-01 and preclinical candidate STM-03 in models of Friedreich’s ataxia, with a focus on both the motor and cardiac manifestations of the disease. Friedreich’s ataxia is a rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive neurological impairment and cardiomyopathy, for which there remain limited therapeutic options.
The funded research will generate critical proof-of-concept data assessing the therapeutic potential of Secretome’s neonatal cardiac progenitor cell-derived platform in FA. These studies are designed to evaluate whether the company’s approach can address both the neurological and cardiac complications associated with the disease.
“FARA has played an extraordinary role in advancing research and bringing new therapeutic approaches to patients with Friedreich’s ataxia,” said Vinny Jindal, Co-founder, President & CEO of Secretome Therapeutics. “We are grateful for their support and look forward to generating important data evaluating STM-01 and STM-03 in FA.”
The studies may also support the future expansion of STM-01’s clinical development program beyond its current focus on cardiomyopathy associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD-CM). Secretome expects to initiate a Phase 2–3 clinical study of STM-01 in DMD-associated cardiomyopathy early next year.
This grant represents another step in advancing Secretome’s mission of developing novel therapies derived from neonatal cardiac progenitor cells, with applications across serious rare diseases involving cardiac dysfunction.