Recent news & Events

PDX Pharma was awarded a new grant from NCI

9/23/2024

We are pleased to share that PDX Pharmaceuticals has received a $250,000 SBIR Commercialization Readiness Program (CRP) grant (SB1CA287735) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to advance ARAC-02™, our next-gen immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This funding supports intellectual property (IP) protection of our core nanotechnology (Pdx-NP™) and ARAC-02™, as well as the […]

PDX Pharma’s PETTRA drug candidate has been awarded to Phase II

9/10/2024

We are pleased to share that PDX Pharma has successfully met all the milestones of our Phase I SBIR and has received approval from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to advance to the Phase II project, valued at $2 million. This project (R44CA285233) focuses on the development of our nanotherapeutic, PETTRA™ (PLK1 and EGFR Targeted […]

PDX Pharma was granted a new EU patent

8/28/2024

PDX Pharma was granted a new EU patent (EP3270932) on August 21, 2024, covering the composition and method of use for our innovative Pdx-NP™ nanoparticle platform. Developed as a polymer-coated mesoporous silica alternative to lipid-based particles, which tend to home to the liver, Pdx-NP™ is the core nanotechnology behind all of PDX Pharmaceuticals’ pipelines. These […]

PDX Pharma was granted a new U.S. Patent

8/20/2024

PDX Pharma was granted a new U.S. Patent (US12059500) on August 13, 2024, marking the third U.S. patent for our ARAC™ technology! ARAC™ is based on our innovative Pdx-NP™ nanoparticle platform, which co-delivers antigen release agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors to elicit a potent anti-tumor immune response. The key claims in this patent include PD-L1 […]

COO of PDX Pharma has been named on Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 For 2024

7/16/2024

Congratulations to Dr. Worapol (Boom) Ngamcherdtrakul for Being Named a 2024 ’40 Under 40′ Honoree!We are thrilled to announce that our Head of Research & COO, Dr. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul, has been named one of Portland Business Journal’s prestigious ’40 Under 40′ honorees for 2024! This recognition highlights his exceptional contributions to cancer research and […]

Highlights from BIO International 2024

7/2/2024

PDX Pharmaceuticals had a fantastic week at BIO International earlier this month in San Diego! Our Head of Research & COO, Dr. Worapol (Boom) Ngamcherdtrakul, delivered a presentation on our cutting-edge Pdx-NP™ nanoparticle technology, and our lead cancer immunotherapeutic candidate ARAC-02™. The presentation sparked meaningful discussions about how our technology addresses the limitations of […]

PDX Pharma has received a Notice of Allowance for the third US patent for ARAC™ technology

6/4/2024

PDX Pharmaceuticals has received a Notice of Allowance for the third US patent for our ARAC™ technology. ARAC™ is based on our nanoparticle platform, Pdx-NP™, co-delivering antigen release agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors to create robust anti-tumor immune response.First in the pipeline is ARAC-02™, which combines a PD-L1 antibody, a PLK1 inhibitor, and an immune-stimulant CpG […]

COO of PDX Pharma presented at the MedInvest Biotech & Pharma Investor Conference in NYC

4/15/2024

On April 3, 2024, Dr. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul (COO) took the stage at the MedInvest Biotech & Pharma Investor Conference in NYC. It was an exciting opportunity to showcase our groundbreaking patented drug delivery platform, PDX-NP™. Developed as an alternative to lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that primarily home to the liver, our non-lipid PDX-NP™ can load multiple […]

CEO of PDX Pharma inducted into the National Academy of Inventors for 2024

3/25/2024

We’re thrilled to share that PDX Pharma’s CEO, Dr. Wassana Yantasee, has been among eight OHSU researchers inducted into The National Academy of Inventors for 2024. This prestigious honor underscores her remarkable contributions to innovation in the field of cancer therapeutics. See more at: https://www.ohsu.edu/innovates/national-academy-inventors-ohsu-chapter

COO of PDX Pharma served as a reviewer on the NIH Scientific Review Panel

3/14/2024

Last week, Dr. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul (COO) had the honor of serving as a reviewer on the NIH Scientific Review Panel for ‘Innovative Research in Cancer Nanotechnology’ and ‘Toward Translation of Nanotechnology Cancer Interventions’ R01 grants. We’re proud to contribute to groundbreaking advancements in cancer research.

PDX Pharma Received Business Oregon’s SBIR Matching Grant

2/26/2024

PDX Pharmaceuticals has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Matching Grant award from Business Oregon. We are proud to be among fourteen companies that won Matching Grants to Support Business Growth and Commercialization. The award will be used for IP protection, marketing, and fundraising activities.

To read more, click here.

PDX pharma awarded SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute (total of $2.4M) for the development of PETTRA, a novel lung cancer treatment

7/6/2023

PDX Pharmaceuticals has been awarded a fast-track SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute for the development of a new drug candidate named PETTRA (PLK1 and EGFR Targeted Therapy and Radiation sensitizer) for lung cancer treatment. PETTRA is built upon our patented nanoparticle delivery platform (Pdx-NP™) for co-delivering anti-EGFR antibody (as a cancer homing agent […]

CEO of PDX Pharma selected as a semi-finalists at the AIM-HI Women’s Venture Competition in Oncology

5/3/2023

Dr. Wassana Yantasee, CEO of PDX Pharmaceuticals, was selected as one of the 6 semi-finalists at the AIM-HI Women’s Venture Competition in Oncology (from among 72 female executives worldwide) by the panel of top cancer experts and VCs based on PDX Pharma’s innovative nano-platform to deliver cancer immunotherapies. The first drug candidate, ARAC-02, targets […]

PDX Pharma awarded two-year $1.87M phase II SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the development of ARAC-02, a novel lung cancer treatment

2/21/2023

PDX Pharma has been awarded a phase II SBIR grant of $1.87M for 2 years from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) focusing on the development of a new nano-immunotherapy ARAC-02 (Antigen Release Agent and Checkpoint Inhibitor) for lung cancer treatment. ARAC-02 – nanoparticle co-delivering a PD-L1 antibody, a polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor, and an […]

PDX Pharma’s ARAC-02 drug candidate has been selected into the Nanotechnology Characterization Lab (NCL)’s collaboration and characterization program.

1/5/2023

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) was founded in 2004 by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NCL’s mission is to accelerate the translation of promising nanotech cancer drugs and diagnostics. PDX Pharma’s proprietary platform (Pdx-NP™) utilizes polymer-modified […]

PDX Pharma won two Corporate Philanthropy Awards

11/2/2022

PDX Pharmaceuticals in partnership with OHSU was among the four teams in Oregon that were awarded the 2022 Innovation in Philanthropy Award. The award recognizes PDX Pharma’s commitment (through donation and volunteer work at the BME of OHSU) in education and training in cancer research and nanotechnology. PDX Pharmaceuticals was also ranked among Oregon’s top ten […]

PDX Pharma received Business Oregon’s Phase II SBIR matching grant

10/20/2022

PDX Pharma is proud to be among seven companies that won a matching grant for phase II small business innovative research (SBIR) from Oregon State Lottery funds administered by Oregon Business Development Department. The award will be used for our IP protection, financing a new facility, and fundraising activities.

To read more, click here

Data on ARAC published in Nature Communications (IF 17.7)

8/8/2022

Data on the ARAC (Antigen Release Agent and Checkpoint Inhibitor) technology has been published in Nature Communications (impact factor 17.7). ARAC is built upon our patented nanoparticle platform capable of co-delivering multiple therapeutic agents, while keeping a small size – similar to the size of a virus – suitable for infusion and tumor accumulation. ARAC co-delivers a polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor and a […]

Data on T-siHER2-NP(DTX) featured as a cover article in Small (IF 13)

3/21/2022

PDX Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the Biomedical Engineering Department of Oregon Health and Science University, co-authored a cover article published in Small Journal, which describes our nano-therapeutic for treating advanced HER2+ breast cancer.

The article describes how our nanoparticle platform (Pdx-NP™) can load 3 different classes of therapeutics, including HER2 siRNA, docetaxel (chemotherapeutic) and trastuzumab […]

Three new US patents issued to the PDX Pharma’s portfolio

2/7/2022

To date, we have had a total of 38 patent applications, and 3 patents were issued in the past 3 months. All thanks to our dedicated team of researchers.

-Patent No. 11,235,058, Immunotherapeutic constructs and methods of their use, February 1, 2022

-Patent […]

AIRISE-02 PUBLICATION FEATURED AS A COVER ARTICLE IN ADVANCED MATERIALS, AND SELECTED FOR WOMEN IN MATERIALS SCIENCE COLLECTION

7/29/2021

Our article on in situ tumor vaccination with AIRISE-02 has been featured in Women in Materials Science collection, which celebrates excellence in the Advanced Materials family (Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Science, and Small).

The Advanced Materials Family “support the most dedicated and enthusiastic scientists in the materials science disciplines in […]

PDX PHARMA RECEIVED A PERFECT SCORE (10) ON ITS FAST-TRACK NCI-SBIR GRANT APPLICATION AND FUNDABLE SCORE (18) ON ITS PHASE II APPLICATION (TOTAL BUDGET OF $4.3M)

7/1/2021

PDX Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with OHSU, has received a perfect score on its fast track SBIR grant application to the NCI. The application focuses on development of ARAC™ pipeline. Grant title: Novel Nano-immunotherapy for Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, requested budget of $2.26 M over 3 years.

Furthermore, the team scored very high (18) on […]

DATA ON AIRISE-02 PUBLISHED IN ADVANCED MATERIALS (IF 30.8)

6/12/2021

June 12, 2021 PDX Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the Knight Cancer Institute and the Biomedical Engineering Department of Oregon Health and Science University, co-authored a paper published in the Advanced Materials Journal, which describes our immuno-nanotherapeutic candidate, Augmenting Immune Response and Inhibiting Suppressive Environment of the tumors,

PDX Pharma received the USPTO’s Notice of Allowance for the patent application on its core nanoparticle technology (Pdx-NP)

5/6/2021

PDX Pharma has received the USPTO’s Notice of Allowance for the patent application US 15/429,971 on its core nanoparticle technology (Pdx-NP) encompassing “Compositions” and “Method of Use” claims. The patent should be issued shortly. The technology is a joint invention of PDX Pharma and OHSU. It was first reported as a cover article in […]

PDX Pharma invited to share success story at the 2021 OHSU “Startup Company Showcase”

5/6/2021

Dr. Wassana Yantasee, CEO, presented an invited talk at the
2021 OHSU Research Week as part of the “Startup Company Showcase”
event in which OHSU startup companies share their compelling stories on bringing
medical technologies to the clinic. PDX Pharma was one of four companies
invited to present.

PDX Pharma is grateful for the support of the BME Department
and […]

PDX Pharmaceuticals Secures Additional Investment from the Kuni Foundation to Advance New Cancer-Fighting Precision Therapies

2/9/2021

PDX Pharmaceuticals received a second round of Series A funding in the amount of $2 million from the Kuni Foundation.

See the press release here

PDX’s CEO and Founder, Wassana Yantasee, PhD commented: “My team and I are excited to embark on this next phase of our clinical development initiatives with the intention of […]

PDX Pharmaceuticals filed international patent applications (PCT) on cancer immunotherapeutics and a provisional application on COVID-19 vaccine

7/17/2020

PDX Pharmaceuticals is proud to report that we have filed two international patent applications (PCT) on cancer immunotherapeutics and a provisional application on COVID-19 vaccine today. Protection of intellectual properties (IPs) is our top priority and we work with one of the best IP law firms, Clark+Elbing, Boston, for patent application preparation and prosecution.

– […]

Augmenting the therapeutic window of radiotherapy: A perspective on molecularly targeted therapies and nanomaterials

6/30/2020

Proud to present PDX Pharma’s new review article in collaboration with OHSU and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Augmenting the therapeutic window of radiotherapy: A perspective on molecularly targeted therapies and nanomaterials” published in Radiotherapy and Oncology.

Highlights

Targeted therapies may augment the therapeutic window of radiotherapy, but toxicities from combining radiation and targeted […]

PDX Pharmaceuticals Names Greg Goodwin to Board of Directors

3/31/2020

PDX Pharmaceuticals named Greg Goodwin to its Board of Directors, currently consisting of Drs. Wassana Yantasee and Joe Gray.

Goodwin, a prominent business and community leader, formerly served as the Chief Executive Officer of Kuni Automotive, a Vancouver-based network of fifteen automobile dealerships in five states, including Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, and Kansas. Goodwin retired […]

PDX Pharmaceuticals presented at Biocom’s 10th Annual Global Life Science Partnering Conference

2/28/2020

PDX Pharmaceuticals was selected to give a company presentation on the topic of “Precision medicine and therapeutic vaccines for cancer” at the Biocom’s 10th Annual Global Life Science Partnering Conference in San Diego on February 26th, 2020. We are grateful to OHSU’s Collaborations and Entrepreneurship program for its support.

PDX Pharmaceuticals raised $4M ($1.5M first milestone payment) in November of 2019 to take its new HER2-targeted therapy to clinical trials.

1/16/2020

PDX Pharmaceuticals received the Series A funding from The Wayne D. Kuni & Joan E. Kuni Foundation, based in Vancouver. This will serve as a matching fund for the phase IIB SBIR award from the NIH (max of $4M) that PDX Pharma is eligible to apply as a phase II SBIR awardee.

PDX Pharmaceuticals’ […]

PDX Pharma hosts delegates from the Japan Health Sciences Foundation

11/1/2019

PDX Pharmaceuticals hosts a visit from delegates from the Japan Health Sciences Foundation, consisting of CEO and managers from biotech and pharma companies from Japan. We are excited that they traveled to Portland to learn about our drug delivery platform and therapeutic vaccine projects, which may result in future partnership and collaboration.

siRNA therapeutics for breast cancer: recent efforts in targeting metastasis, drug resistance, and immune evasion

10/9/2019

Drs. Ngamcherdtrakul and Yantasee recently published a
review article “siRNA therapeutics for breast
cancer: recent efforts in targeting metastasis, drug resistance, and immune
evasion” in Translational Research.

In this Review, we describe recent efforts in developing siRNA therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, with particular emphasis on breast cancer. Instead of conventionally targeting proliferation and apoptosis aspects of tumorigenesis, […]

PRESIDENT SERVES ON SCIENTIFIC REVIEW PANELS FOR THE DOD AND NIH IN NOVEMBER OF 2019

10/9/2019

Dr. Wassana Yantasee, President/CEO, serves on scientific review panels for the DOD and NIH in November of 2019; the DOD’s BCRP Clinical & Experimental Therapeutics and the NIH’s SBIR/STTR on Platform Delivery Technologies for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics

PLK1 and EGFR targeted nanoparticle as a radiation sensitizer for non-small cell lung cancer published in Cancer Letters

10/9/2019

Proud to present PDX Pharma’s new research article in collaboration with OHSU. “PLK1 and EGFR targeted nanoparticle as a radiation sensitizer for non-small cell lung cancer.” published in Cancer Letters.

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death in men and women. Herein we utilize our nanoparticle platform for co-delivery of well […]

PRESIDENT CHAIRED AT THE BIT’S 17TH ANNUAL CONGRESS OF INTERNATIONAL DRUG DISCOVERY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-2019 (IDDST-2019)

10/9/2019

Dr. Wassana Yantasee, President/CEO, chaired a session at the Nanotechnologies for Drug Delivery Systems section at the BIT’s 17th Annual Congress of International Drug Discovery Science and Technology-2019 (IDDST-2019) which was held in Kyoto International Conference Center on July 25-27, and gave a talk  titled “A versatile nanoparticle platform for targeted delivery of siRNA, chemodrug, […]

President is Awarded the 2019 Circle of Giving Grant

8/14/2019

In her capacity as an OHSU faculty, Dr. Yantasee, President/CEO, and colleagues have been awarded the 2019 Circle of Giving grant by the OHSU Center for Women’s Health Circle of Giving, for the development of new cancer vaccines for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Dr. Yantasee will work with OHSU’s Amanda Lund, Ph.D. and […]

PDX PHARMA WELCOMES A NEW SCIENTIST, DR. MOATAZ REDA

8/13/2019

PDX Pharma welcomes a new Scientist, Dr. Moataz Reda. Dr. Reda recently graduated from Oregon Health and Science University with a doctorate degree in biomedical engineering. His dissertation thesis was on the development of novel nanoparticle based PLK1, EGFR, and PD-L1 targeted therapies for lung cancer. He is our top recruit and we are excited […]

PDX PHARMA WELCOMES A NEW RESEARCH ASSISTANT, RUIJIE WANG

8/13/2019

PDX Pharma welcomes a new Research Assistant, Ruijie Wang. Rujie recently graduated from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and a Minor in Pharmacology (GPA 3.57). Her undergraduate research experience in Dr. Zhengqiang Wang’s group involved the design and synthesis of TDP2 inhibitors — innovative drugs for cancer treatment. She […]

PDX PHARMA WELCOMES A NEW RESEARCH ASSISTANT, MOLLY HERINCKX

6/26/2019

PDX Pharma welcomes a new Research Assistant, Molly Herinckx. Molly recently graduated from Oregon State University with an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and Minors in Chemistry and Spanish (GPA 3.97). Her Honors College thesis project focused on engineering mutant strains of Streptomyces fungicidicus to analyze the effect of […]

Mr. Bejan has been accepted into Oregon Health and Science University’s PhD program as an ARCS Scholar

4/29/2019

Daniel Bejan joined PDX Pharmaceuticals in 2017 as a research assistant and has recently been accepted into OHSU’s graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (PMCB). Along with his acceptance to PMCB, Daniel was selected as an OHSU ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation Scholar . ARCS is national non-profit women’s organization whose goal […]

Dr. Ngamcherdtrakul presents at the 2nd Annual Formulation & Drug Delivery USA Congress.

3/20/2019

Dr. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul, a principal scientist of PDX Pharmaceuticals, gave a talk entitled “Versatile Nanoparticles For Delivery Of siRNAs, Cancer Drugs, And Vaccine Agents: Systemic And Topical Applications” on March 18th, 2019 at the 2nd Annual Formulation & Drug Delivery USA Congress in San Diego, CA.
-Our versatile mesoporous silica nanoparticle platform has been designed and […]

Data on Functionalized Mesoporous Silica for Removing Heavy Metals Accepted for Publication in Scientific Reports (IF = 4.122)

1/29/2019

Data on mesoporous silica modified with 1,2-hydroxypyridinone (1,2-HOPO) for capturing gadolinium based contrast agents in vitro and in a chronic kidney disease rodent model have been recently published in Scientific Reports. The work was done in collaboration between PDX Pharmaceuticals, the Biomedical Engineering Department of Oregon Health and Science University, and the Pacific Northwest National […]

PDX Pharma welcomes a new Research Assistant, Husam Zaidan

11/26/2018

PDX Pharma welcomes a new Research Assistant, Husam Zaidan. Husam recently graduated from University of Oregon with a Major in Biochemistry and a Minor in Biology. His Honors College thesis project focused on the antioxidative effects of organic polysulfide H2S donors. He is our top pick among 120 applicants. We are excited to add him […]

President presents at the 2018 International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) Symposium

9/21/2018

PDX Pharma’s President/CEO, Dr. Wassana Yantasee, gave a talk on the “Development of a New Oral Drug for Treating Chronic Mercury Exposure” on September 8th, at the 2018 International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) Symposium, in Vermont.
Highlights from her talk include:
-Mesoporous silica functionalized with a dense thiol monolayer rug (SH-SAMMS) is much more […]

President serves as chair for the 2018 Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium (NANODDS)

9/21/2018

PDX Pharma’s President/CEO, Dr. Wassana Yantasee, will serve as chair for session IV of the 2018 Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium, hosted in Portland, Oregon (September 21-23). PDX Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with Oregon Health and Science University’s biomedical engineering department, will present two posters at the conference:
Nanoparticle-mediated co-delivery of taxane and siRNA to mirror the first […]

PDX Pharma met phase I SBIR milestones and is approved for starting the phase II SBIR project by the National Cancer Institute on 06/01/2018

5/25/2018

PDX Pharma has met all the milestones of the phase I portion of our fast-track SBIR project “Nanoparticle-based targeted codelivery of siRNA and taxane to treat drug-resistant HER2+ breast cancer” and has been approved for starting the phase II portion of the project by the NCI. The project period is from 06/01/2018 to 05/31/2020.

President serves as the guest editor for the Bioengineering’s special issue “Nanoparticles in Therapeutic Applications”

5/22/2018

PDX Pharma’s President/CEO, Dr. Wassana Yantasee, is currently serving as the guest editor in the special issue “Nanoparticles in Therapeutic Applications” for the MDPI  Bioengineering  journal. The special issue focuses on nanoparticle development and applications in broad ranges of diseases and delivery routes.
More information can be found here.

President has served as a reviewer for the ZRG1 IMST-L (55) ‘Innovative Research in Cancer Nanotechnology’ (R01) Study Section for the NIH

5/22/2018

PDX Pharma’s President/CEO, Dr. Wassana Yantasee, has served as a reviewer for the ZRG1 IMST-L (55)  PAR-17-240 ‘Innovative Research in Cancer Nanotechnology (IRCN)’ (R01) Study Section for the National Institute of Health (NIH), held in Washington DC on March 29, 2018.

Data on PDX-001 Accepted for Publication in PLoS One (IF=2.806)

5/22/2018

PDX Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the Biomedical Engineering Department of Oregon Health and Science University, has developed PDX-001 as a targeted nanoparticle for delivery of therapeutic siRNA for treating HER2+ breast cancer. The work has been funded by fast-track phase I/II SBIR awards from the NIH/NCI as well as angel funds (the Prospect Creek Foundation […]