RUMI Scientific Secures $1.9M Phase II SBIR Award for Autism Therapy Research

RUMI Scientific, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health, amounting to $1.9 million. This grant supports RUMI's innovative work in developing therapies for rare and neurodegenerative diseases through its organoid phenotypic screening platform. RUMI's platform employs an unbiased phenotypic method to facilitate drug discovery for central nervous system (CNS) and other diseases. The company's leading candidate, currently in preclinical development, aims to treat Huntington's disease. Additionally, RUMI is utilizing its platform to find new therapeutic approaches for various genetic forms of autism and peripheral diseases, including chronic kidney disease.

The Phase II funding will support RUMI's ongoing efforts to model advanced stages of brain development, which are crucial for developing treatments for autism and other neurological conditions. This is the first Phase II SBIR award the company has received since its founding. The project focuses on creating an in vitro tool to replicate physiological and pathological neuronal networks of forebrain neurons called cerebroids. By assembling an interdisciplinary team, RUMI hopes to accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic candidates for autism, a field with significant unmet medical needs but limited innovation.

So far, RUMI has secured over $4 million in non-dilutive technology and grant funding. Dr. Allen Fienberg, the Chief Executive Officer of RUMI, stated that this grant marks a significant milestone for the company. It will enhance their discovery and development efforts in autism. RUMI continues to advance its leading program, an orally administered BRD9 inhibitor for Huntington’s Disease, towards clinical development. They also aim to expand their CNS efforts to include work in autism, supported by this non-dilutive funding.

RUMI Scientific's mission is to discover and develop innovative therapeutics for rare and neurodegenerative diseases. They use a cutting-edge synthetic human tissue platform to generate more predictive data, leading to quicker and safer clinical trials. The company's leading program involves an oral bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9) inhibitor, currently in the lead optimization stage for treating Huntington's disease. RUMI was established in 2016 and licensed foundational technology from The Rockefeller University, created by co-founders Ali H. Brivanlou, Ph.D., and Eric D. Siggia, Ph.D. 

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