BioAegis Therapeutics Announces US Navy Contract to Support Phase 2 Study of Recombinant Human Gelsolin, for Inflammasome-Driven Decompression Sickness (DCS)
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioAegis Therapeutics, a pioneering biotech company at the forefront of innovative therapies for acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, announces that it will conduct a Phase 2 study of rhu-pGSN for decompression sickness (DCS) under a contract awarded by the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research to the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). This work is the culmination of an extended collaboration with Dr. Stephen Thom, Professor of Emergency Medicine at UMSOM. The Company's portfolio is built around gelsolin, a highly conserved and critical immune regulatory protein which rebalances dysfunctional inflammation without suppressing immune function.
Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Rhu-pGSN
The study, 'Rhu-pGSN to Mitigate Proinflammatory Responses to Decompression in Healthy SCUBA Divers,' NCT06216366 is being conducted under a contract with the Office of Naval Research with the University of Maryland. It will investigate the use of rhu-pGSN as a pre- or post-exposure intervention in healthy trained SCUBA divers exposed to controlled hyperbaric conditions. The study is designed to assess the impact of rhu-pGSN on key inflammatory responses and microparticle production associated with decompression.
Decompression sickness occurs when inert gas bubbles form in the bloodstream and tissues due to rapid pressure changes, triggering an inflammatory cascade. Previous studies have shown that individuals with DCS exhibit depleted levels of plasma gelsolin and elevated levels of microparticles that contain inflammatory cytokines. In animal models, supplementation with rhu-pGSN both prevented and mitigated DCS-related complications.
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will enroll healthy trained SCUBA divers at a single site and expose them to a standardized hyperbaric protocol (30 meters of seawater for 35 minutes). Participants will be randomized into three groups to receive either pre-exposure or post-exposure rhu-pGSN, or placebo. The study will assess a broad range of outcomes including plasma gelsolin levels, inflammatory markers like IL-1β, gas bubble formation, and well-being metrics.
Dr. Thom states, 'If successful, this study could transform the way we manage decompression sickness by providing a portable, field-deployable treatment option. Reducing our reliance on hyperbaric chambers would greatly expand our ability to treat DCS in remote or operational environments, improving outcomes and readiness, a key goal for the Navy.' BioAegis and University of Maryland are co-applicants on a patent filing listing Dr. Thom as an inventor.
Gelsolin: A Multitasking Protein for Complex Inflammatory Conditions
Rhu-pGSN holds immense promise as a therapeutic intervention for serious acute and chronic conditions due to its multifaceted mechanism of action. In critical illness, gelsolin levels collapse, causing adverse outcomes. Supplementing gelsolin addresses this deficit directly, restoring immune balance while preserving host defense and rhu-pGSN has been shown in animal studies to:
Supplementation with the recombinant gelsolin protein holds promise to address the overzealous inflammatory response associated many inflammatory diseases without suppressing immune function.
About BioAegis
BioAegis Therapeutics Inc. is a NJ-based clinical-stage private company whose mission is to capitalize on a key regulatory component of the body's immune system, plasma gelsolin, to prevent adverse outcomes in diseases driven by inflammation.
BioAegis has the exclusive license to broad, worldwide intellectual property through Harvard-Brigham and Women's Hospital. It holds over 40 patents issued for coverage of inflammatory disease, infection, renal failure, neurologic disease, and frailty. BioAegis will also have U.S. biologics exclusivity and has recently filed new IP in areas of unmet need.
BioAegis' lead product, rhu-pGSN, is currently being studied in a 600-patient global Phase 2 trial for patients with moderate to severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). This project has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under contract number 75A50123C00067. NCT05947955
Investor Inquiries:
Steven Cordovano
203-952-6373
[email protected]
Media Inquiries:
Christine Lagana
[email protected]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
18 minutes ago
- Fast Company
If you want to beat burnout, start counting your wins
When our son was 2 years old, our twins were born. That meant that for a while, we had three kids under 3 years old (and then three kids under 4, and then three under 5). At the time, I was also working at a high-stress job as a Justice Department attorney, with not enough support at home or at work. Perhaps I began to get depressed, but it would be more accurate to say I was moving too fast even to know how I felt. Mostly, I was like a hamster on a wheel: sprinting as fast as I could just to stay in place. My days blurred together in an endless loop of emails, laundry, preschool drop-offs, spit-up, 2 a.m. feedings, and briefing political appointees. I knew something had to change, but the entire concept of 'self-care' seemed completely inaccessible. A spin class? A pedicure? Even a massage? You might as well have told me to hike to the moon. Fortunately, I hit upon a quick, free, low-effort practice that helped me begin to find my way back to myself: I started to count my wins. Every night before I went to sleep, I would list three things I did well that day. They weren't huge accomplishments, I promise. Sometimes, they were things like, 'I got Henry to eat a green bean today.' But over time, something pretty incredible started to happen. Instead of feeling like a hamster on a wheel, running so fast and getting nowhere, I began to notice that I was actually getting somewhere. That email I spent two weeks on actually did go out, and it was pretty good if I do say so myself. I remembered to call my friend on her birthday. I made the vacation rental reservation. My life wasn't just an endless to-do list. There were lots and lots of things I was accomplishing all the time. The power of small wins Here's what I know: we are excellent at identifying what we haven't done. I bet you could list 10 unfinished tasks right now off the top of your head. But what about something you accomplished this week? Can you name even one? Our constant cataloguing of tasks and reminders of where we've fallen short starts to chip away at us. Merely thinking about our to-do lists creates anticipatory stress and fatigue, depleting our energy and creating overwhelm. When I forced myself to list the things I had accomplished, I was able to shift my focus away from all the things I was failing to achieve, and instead to notice all that I was. How to Start Counting Your Wins Make it a habit. Each night before bed, I'd name three things I did well that day. It's helpful to connect it to something that you're already doing, so you might try it on your commute, or while brushing your teeth. Daily is ideal, but weekly works, too. Be specific. 'I was a good manager' is fine. 'I supported Alex through a tough client call' is better. Specificity helps your brain register and remember the success. Define your own wins. Wins don't have to be big. They just have to matter to you. A win could be leading a meeting well or setting a boundary with a relative or remembering to bring your lunch. You get to define what counts. Check in with yourself. Set a calendar notice for three weeks after you've started counting your wins to ask yourself if you're seeing any difference in your patience or energy level. Are you a little easier on yourself? Are you finding it easier to identify wins? That reflection can motivate you to keep up the practice. It's so easy to lose sight of our progress. Counting your wins is a simple but powerful tool to reclaim that perspective. It doesn't require a lot of time or a major life overhaul, just a brief pause to recognize all that you are accomplishing. That moment of reflection can help you sustain momentum, rebuild resilience, and reconnect with a sense of purpose. In a world that often measures us by what's next, this practice reminds us: what you've already done counts, too.
Fast Company
28 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Why getting revenge on your work nemesis might not be a good idea
Ever given someone the cold shoulder at work because you felt they slighted you in a meeting? Or maybe you daydream about ways to retaliate on the person who got the promotion instead of you? Whether it's carried out or not, the desire for revenge is hardwired into our brains, says James Kimmel Jr., author of The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction—and How to Overcome It and founder of the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies. 'Evolutionary psychologists have a leading theory that humans began finding revenge pleasurable as part of the ice age,' he explains. 'It's part of an adaptive strategy to cause people to comply with or obey with social norms of the community.' During that time, missteps included stealing food or spouses—things that threatened the ability to survive and procreate. In modern times, though, revenge seeking is not based on survival. Instead, it's triggered when someone wrongs us, initiating a fight-or-flight, self-defense mechanism. 'This once adaptive strategy of revenge seeking has now become often a pathological strategy,' says Kimmel. 'Slights, insults, humiliation, shame, betrayal—those are the types of things we're willing to punish or even kill each other for. It's more like a disease because we're not using it to probate. We're using it to destroy relationships without regard to the original reasons we have this behavior in our repertoire as part of human evolution.' Revenge in the Workplace Kimmel says we move through life with a mental courtroom inside our heads, endlessly putting people on trial who insult, wrong, humiliate, shame, or betray us. 'Often the people who caused that sense of victimization don't know about it,' he says. 'Sometimes it's intended, but sometimes it's not.' Intention, however, doesn't matter. At a biological level, the brain's pain network is activated, and the response is to equalize itself. It activates the reward and pleasure circuitry, triggering a desire for revenge. At work, revenge often comes in a form of social rejection, such as excluding someone or giving them the cold shoulder, says Kimmel. 'I'm going to withdraw my attention,' he says. 'I'm no longer going to gratify your need to feel part of my group. It's a retaliatory strategy.' Social isolation can be painful and effective, but Kimmel says it's a passive-aggressive strategy that can bring about a retaliation response from the other person where behaviors can escalate. For example, it can eventually become the direct sabotage of company projects or another person's work or anonymous online attacks a coworker or a superior you feel that has harmed you. It can even turn into workplace violence. The Risks of Revenge-Seeking Revenge is not best thought of as an emotion. It's a motivational drive, says Kimmel. 'In our brains we have the prefrontal cortex that is our executive function and self-control circuitry,' he says. 'It's there to prevent you from doing things that harm yourself or others. If you move into that point where you can't control it—you can't resist that urge—you can start engaging in retaliatory behavior in the workplace.' While a revengeful action may feel good in the moment, it comes with risks, says Kimmel. First, you're harming a relationship that is probably still valuable to you. 'It's a double-edged sword,' he says. 'As you're trying to hurt the other person, you're almost invariably hurting yourself. Revenge seeking delivers pleasurable dopamine, but it's short lived. You're often left in greater pain than when you started, which can lead to wanting to seek more revenge.' The risks can also become bigger, such as losing your job, losing valuable contacts in the company, and losing your reputation. 'Those types of experiences can bleed over to your personal life,' says Kimmel. 'All of a sudden, everything you worked for is slowly being undermined or destroyed by an inability to control these revenge desires.' A revengeful person in the workplace is often thought of as a hot head. 'It's not about somebody who's evil,' says Kimmel. 'It's somebody who's dealing with powerful revenge desires that are actually an addiction.' Circumventing the Revenge Response One of the best ways to tamp down the urge for revenge is something else humans are wired for: forgiveness. ' Neuroscience shows that when you just imagine forgiving a grievance, it reverses the entire grievance-revenge-seeking process and shuts down the pain network,' says Kimmel. 'It takes away the fantasies you're having about how to get back at the person.' Forgiveness is often considered a sign of weakness, but Kimmel says it's a sign of self-healing. It reactivates your prefrontal cortex executive function and self-control strategy, allowing you to regain control over your behaviors so you don't do things to hurt yourself or others. 'You can use it anytime and as often as you want,' says Kimmel. 'Close your eyes and imagine what it would feel like to forgive. Most people say they would feel better, lighter, and like a weight came off their shoulders. They can leave it in the past and go forward.' If you're in a toxic workplace, you'll need to remove yourself to be happy and healthy. Once the present threat is in the past, it's a memory you can no longer experience. Punishing someone or seeking revenge for it, brings the memory into your present and future, day after day. 'If one of your goals in life is to have a successful career and workplace experience, you're going to want to forgive,' says Kimmel. 'A Harvard study showed that winners don't tally; they don't seek revenge. People who choose not to punish but to forgive and move on almost invariably win the game. People who are given the opportunity to punish and take it lose the game. We're always losers when we seek revenge.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fapon Biopharma to Showcase Differentiated Pipeline, Including Phase 1 Immunocytokine FP008, and Innovative Technology Platforms at BIO 2025
BOSTON, June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fapon Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotech company innovating therapeutic antibodies and fusion proteins, is pleased to announce its participation in the BIO International Convention 2025 (BIO 2025), taking place June 16-19 in Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The company will exhibit at Booth #1851, presenting its differentiated pipeline, including the flagship Phase 1 immunocytokine FP008, a portfolio of promising early-stage candidates for oncology and autoimmune diseases, and its suite of proprietary technology platforms, while actively seeking global partnerships. FP008, Fapon Biopharma's lead asset, is a first-in-class immunocytokine currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, designed to address significant unmet needs in solid tumor patient refractory to anti-PD-1 therapy. The company will also feature promising preclinical candidates targeting oncology (FP010, FP011, FPE021) and autoimmune diseases (FPE022, FPE024), highlighting its expanding research capabilities. Fapon Biopharma will feature its proprietary and innovative technology platforms, engineered to overcome complex drug development challenges: Bi/Tri-TCE Platform: Human-monkey cross-reactive TCR/CD3 nanobody, enabling the design of potent multi-specific antibodies for targeted cancer immunotherapy. FILTEN™ (IL-10M Fusion Protein Platform): Overcoming IL-10 limitations for broad applications in cancer and autoimmune diseases PROTiNb™ (Proteolysis Targeting Intra-Nanobody): A pioneering platform targeting previously "undruggable" intracellular targets, demonstrating a strong competitive edge. FIND™ Mammalian Cell Display Platform: Accelerating antibody discovery by combining mammalian cell expression with high-throughput screening. "We are excited to connect with the global biopharma community at BIO 2025," said Vincent Huo, President of Fapon Biopharma. "We look forward to demonstrating the exciting progress of our internal pipeline and how our technology platforms can empower external partners to bring transformative therapy to patients faster." Engagement Opportunities:Exhibition Booth: #1851Company Presentation: Time: 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 17, 2025Location: Room 153A, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center To schedule a meeting in advance or during the conference, please contact our BD representatives, Max Wang ( and Liyan Gao ( or visit us at Booth #1851. Meetings can also be requested via the BIO partnering system. About Fapon Biopharma ( Fapon Biopharma specializes in discovering and developing biologics for treating cancers, autoimmune diseases and other diseases where there are unmet medical needs. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, we have built advanced drug discovery platforms, including an antibody discovery platform based on the globally leading mammalian cell display technology, a platform for generating IL-10M fusion proteins, and a platform for developing multispecific antibodies using Fibody and nanobodies. With a differentiated pipeline of leading drug candidates, we have established capabilities that cover the entire drug development process from drug discovery, preclinical research, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) to early clinical development. Committed to innovation, we strive to deliver safer, more efficacious, affordable, and accessible biologics for everyone. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Fapon Biopharma Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
