NEW YORK, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- NexGenix Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. a privately-held biotechnology company with a portfolio of novel targeted therapies for oncology and neurodegenerative disorders, based in New York City, today announced that it has been awarded a Phase I grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for the Development Of Novel Small Molecule Hsp90 Therapeutics to Treat Glioma. The grant of up to $118,000 was awarded under the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Initiative. The Small Business Innovation research (SBIR) program is a set-aside program for domestic small business concerns to engage in Research/Research and Development (R&D) that has the potential for commercialization.

"The award by the NINDS's SBIR program provides important recognition for NexGenix's Hsp90 inhibitor program for the treatment of Glioblastoma, a deadly disease, and further validates the quality of our drug development capabilities," said Dr. Allan Rubenstein, Chief Executive Officer of NexGenix. "Through continued development of our Hsp90 program, we remain committed to finding novel treatments for brain tumors, other cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases."

NexGenix Pharmaceuticals also announced that Director of Pre-Clinical Research and Development Dr. Ruihong Chen will be available for Q&A during a poster session showing the results from a pilot study demonstrating increased survival of GL261 Glioma Bearing Mice at the upcoming 2009 Joint Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) and the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Chen's presentation will take place on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside

About NexGenix: NexGenix Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held biotechnology company based in New York City. The Company's portfolio consists of a series of Hsp90 inhibitors, a novel target for oncology and neurodegenerative disorders, which has attracted an enormous amount of development interest in the past several years. The Company's proprietary Hsp90 screening platform has already generated over 300 potential compounds. From this group, three lead drug candidates have been identified on the basis of superior efficacy, safety, and the ability to cross the blood brain barrier. The product profiles lend themselves to address diseases such as glioblastoma (or "glioma", commonly known as malignant brain tumor) and other cancers, as well as neurodegenerative disorders, including the motor neuron disease ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and Parkinson's disease. Each of these indications represents a world-wide market of at least $1B/year. In addition, the Company has a clinical stage intralesional treatment for dermal neurofibromas, the most common lesion in Neurofibromatosis Type 1, and a research stage program in inhibitors of p21-activated kinase for indications including Neurofibromatosis Type 2 and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

http://www.NexGenixPharm.com

SOURCE NexGenix Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc.