Calithera Biosciences receives a $2.4M funding award from the CF Foundation to advance a potential treatment to reduce infections in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis

Calithera Biosciences is a San Francisco-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of targeted, small-molecule therapies that disrupt cellular metabolic pathways to preferentially block tumor cell growth and enhance immune-cell activity. Today, the company received a new research award of up to $2.4 million from the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation to develop a new approach to reduce infections.

In an announcement today, CF Foundation is given to Calithera Biosciences to advance a potential treatment to reduce infections in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis. Individuals with CF who have chronic infections are at greater risk for worsening, life-threatening lung disease, making infections a top concern of both patients and clinicians.

The award of part of the CF Foundation’s effort in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis and also new treatments for difficult-to-treat infections in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis. In 2018, the CF Foundation dedicated $100 million through 2023 to its Infection Research Initiative as part of a sweeping effort to advance infection research. Currently, the CF Foundation is funding 13 new industry programs to develop treatments for CF-related infections and is advocating for Congress to create solutions that promote a robust, sustainable pipeline of antibiotics.

Calithera’s investigational treatment, CB-280, aims to limit the activity of an enzyme called arginase that, when elevated, reduces nitric oxide in the lungs and thereby creates favorable conditions in the airways for bacteria and other microorganisms to colonize. Preclinical studies indicate that inhibiting arginase may increase nitric oxide levels, reducing all types of infection, and improving lung function in people with CF. Funds from the CF Foundation will be used to advance the clinical development of CB-280, which is currently being studied in a Phase 1b clinical trial.

“New approaches are needed to address the difficult-to-treat infections that remain a hallmark of cystic fibrosis,” said J.P. Clancy, MD, vice president of clinical research at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “Identifying and progressing novel ways to fight infections remains a top priority for the CF Foundation, and we look forward to learning more about this potential new treatment and its ability to prevent bacteria from taking hold in the lungs.”

Founded in 2010 by Susan Molineaux, Calithera is a development stage pharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. They are applying Their scientific expertise to build a pipeline of unique anti-cancer drugs that selectively target metabolic and apoptotic pathways critical to tumor growth and survival.