Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul invented a nanoparticle platform for treating cancer while he was earning his doctorate in biomedical engineering from OHSU in 2015.
He now serves as the chief operations officer and principal scientist of PDX Pharmaceuticals, a Portland biotech startup founded by Wassana Yantasee, a professor in OHSU’s biomedical engineering program. Ngamcherdtrakul's next-generation nanotechnology, which manipulates matter on an atomic or molecular scale, holds promise for generating long-lasting, cost-effective and less toxic cancer treatment.
PDX Pharma has garnered a series of small business innovation research awards and grants from the National Institutes of Health. The startup raised $11 million in financing as of 2022. PDX Pharma is now in the early stages of trying to raise $15 million.
We spoke with Ngamcherdtrakul to learn more about the company’s current efforts to attract more investment and get the technology into clinical trials in humans. PDX Pharma has six employees and rents space from OHSU on Portland’s South Waterfront.
Ngamcherdtrakul was recently recognized as one of the Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 recipients, recognizing his achievements before turning 40.
Answers have been edited for space and clarity.
How tough is the environment right now? What are you hearing from investors? Some investors prefer assets that are very close to human testing. Others prefer assets that already have some supporting human data. Some investors have invested heavily in immunotherapeutic candidates and feel the need to de-risk their portfolios. To overcome these challenges, we are continuously refining our story and pitch based on feedback from our consultants, key opinion leaders and investors. We emphasize how our technology is disruptive and addresses the current unmet needs in cancer treatment. Additionally, we are pursuing non-dilutive funding, for example, grants, to advance our programs in the meantime.
How close are you to taking your platform from the lab into human testing? With sufficient funding, we could start our first clinical trial within 18 months. PDX Pharmaceuticals has developed a patented core nanoparticle technology that can deliver several classes of therapeutic cargoes to tumors beyond the liver, overcoming a key limitation of conventional lipid nanoparticles. PDX Pharma has developed many lead therapeutic and vaccine candidates based on (the technology), delivering different payloads. Our technology is validated by numerous high-impact, peer-reviewed publications and grant funding.
How critical is the funding to making that happen? Many biotech investors prefer to invest once companies have achieved proof-of-concept data in humans. Consequently, the first in-human Phase 1/1b clinical trials will provide a critical value-inflection point for (the) technology for subsequent investments and partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies. Demonstrating its safety and successful target engagement in humans will also generate immense interest in its potential to disrupt many other cancer pathways.
