Biotech startup Arrevus lands $800,000 in grants for sepsis and wound treatment

RALEIGH — Biotech startup Arrevus has received two grants totaling $800,000 to investigate its treatment for sepsis and wound healing.

The Raleigh-based firm was awarded a $300,000 grant in support of its novel chaperone protein inhibitor, ARV-1502, for the treatment of sepsis. Separately, it received $500,000 from the Department of Defense’s U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command for the same inhibitor to accelerate wound healing.

Arrevus said both indications are associated with a very high unmet medical need. It estimated 30 percent of US in-hospital deaths are sepsis-related.

“The clinical utility of engineered host defense peptides, such as ARV-1502, is a fertile area for development for both the commercial and military markets,” said Dr. Carl N. Kraus, founder and CEO of Arrevus, in a statement.

Arrevus is pioneering a novel approach to infections, sepsis and wound healing through the development of Designer Proline-rich Chaperone protein inhibitors (DPCs), with the lead compound being ARV-1502.

Arrevus said the compound has been shown to have antimicrobial activity by inhibiting the bacterial chaperone protein, DnaK, as well as suppress inflammation in multiple infectious disease animal models. It has also been shown to accelerate healing in both infected and uninfected wounds using various animal wound models.

With the latest injection of funds, the firm said it will work closely with both the University of Florida’s Sepsis And Critical Illness Research Center and the University of Miami’s Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery to further characterize the potential of ARV-1502.

“As we have so clearly learned from the current pandemic, infectious disease is not merely a “drug/bug” story but must integrate the host response into the healing equation,” Kraus added. “Thus far, it seems that ARV-1502 may provide support for both pathogen elimination and improving the immune response to these clinical challenges.”

In 2015, Kraus founded Arrevus after holding scientific and management roles in the pharmaceutical industry, including i3Research, a subsidiary of United Health Group, where he served as senior director of infectious diseases, over the past decade.

Kraus also worked at PRA International, where he was the global scientific head for infectious diseases. He has most recently served for three years as the chief medical officer for Nanotherapeutics, a biodefense-oriented biotechnology company.

To date, the startup has raised around $4.5 million in funding.