Emeryville, CA – June 11, 2025 – Octant, Inc. (“Octant”), a drug discovery company developing correctors for misfolding diseases, today announced it has received a $4.9 million grant from the Gates Foundation to support the launch of a new therapeutics program focused on Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers. The initiative will develop affordable small-molecule drugs designed to disrupt the interaction between hundreds of variants of the HPV E6 protein and the tumor suppressor protein p53, a critical pathway involved in cervical and other HPV-associated cancers.
HPV is responsible for a significant global burden of cancers, disproportionately impacting patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Addressing this challenge requires broad-spectrum drugs capable of targeting the diverse HPV genotypes prevalent in different global populations. Octant will leverage its advanced platform to accelerate the development of potent, broad-spectrum, small molecule anti-virals that target HPV. By integrating multiplexed screening with high-throughput chemistry, the Octant platform rapidly identifies and optimizes lead compounds to significantly enhance their potency while ensuring broad-spectrum efficacy against diverse HPV strains.
"This grant from the foundation will support Octant in rapidly initiating a program to address critical gaps in treatment options for HPV-related cancers and expanding our oncology pipeline to address additional p53-mediated tumors," said Sri Kosuri, CEO of Octant. "Our goal is to develop accessible and cost-effective therapeutics to improve health outcomes globally, particularly for populations most in need."
Octant is a small molecule drug discovery company developing correctors for protein misfolding diseases. Octant’s platform, The Navigator, combines high-throughput synthetic biology, generative chemistry, and AI/ML to discover and develop therapeutics against complex cellular mechanisms in human cells. Their pipeline is led by correctors programs for autosomal dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (adRP) and Fabry Disease (FD), and includes several other programs across oncology and other serious diseases. For more information visit www.octant.bio.