# Preclinical assessment of a novel compound for treating radiation-induced oral mucositis

> **NIH NIH R43** · SINOPIA BIOSCIENCES, INC. · 2022 · $318,284

## Abstract

Project Summary
Inflammation and ulceration of mucosal tissue, called mucositis, is a severe side effect of many common
treatments in oncology, including chemo- and radiotherapy. Mucositis development is costly to the health care
system and can lead to poorer outcomes for patients. Mucositis of the mouth and esophagus, called oral
mucositis, is particularly common in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy, where roughly
80% of patients develop this side effect. Treating oral mucositis remains a large clinical unmet need with no FDA
approved treatments for patients with solid tumors. Using Sinopia Biosciences’ computational platform, we
identified a unique target class and an associated small molecule for preventing and/or treating mucositis. The
target class has an established safety profile in patients with solid tumors. In two studies with the acute radiation-
induced hamster model of oral mucositis, we observed promising results that oral administration of the compound
significantly decreased the duration of ulcerative mucositis and in some animals completely prevented the
development of ulcers. The observed effect size was as large or larger than other compounds currently in the
clinic tested in the same model. The test compound is a pan-inhibitor of several targets in the target class, each
with multiple binding domains. In this Phase I proposal, we will test three additional compounds with different
selectivity to these targets and domains in order to understand the pharmacology of this target class to determine
the target that most contributes to mucositis amelioration. If successful, in Phase II of this proposal we will
develop a novel compound selective for the most effective target. We will then characterize this new compound
in the fractionated radiation model of oral mucositis and the chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucositis to
advance towards the clinic.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10480609
- **Project number:** 1R43DE031464-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** SINOPIA BIOSCIENCES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Colton Joseph Lloyd
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $318,284
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2024-09-04

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10480609

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10480609, Preclinical assessment of a novel compound for treating radiation-induced oral mucositis (1R43DE031464-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10480609. Licensed CC0.

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