Ceramedix Awarded Up to $4.5 Million NIAID Contract to Advance Lead GI-ARS Therapeutic Toward IND Submission

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceramedix, Inc., a privately held New York City-based biotherapeutics company, today announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract of up to $4.5 million from the Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The contract will fund Ceramedix's continued nonclinical in vivo studies and advance the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) development of its lead drug candidate, a proprietary, first-in-class anti-ceramide antibody designed to disrupt microvascular cell death signaling. The drug candidate is being developed as a potential emergency medical countermeasure for the treatment of gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS), a potentially fatal condition induced by lethal radiation exposure.

The award enables Ceramedix to build upon its work under contract number 75N93023C00015 and SBIR Phase 2b grant number 5R44AI106283-08, from NIAID. The new contract will fund essential activities needed to support the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Ceramedix's proprietary anti-ceramide antibodies represent a significant breakthrough with the potential to enable lifesaving treatment of GI-ARS. The company's lead drug candidate is designed for subcutaneous administration during mass casualty emergencies.

Charles Dimmler, Executive Chairman of Ceramedix, stated: "Our Ceramedix Team is gratified by NIAID's decision to award this new contract. Our Team is inspired by the high degree of importance of the GI-ARS Program and by the challenges that lie ahead."   

About Ceramedix, Inc.

Ceramedix, Inc. is developing first-in-class drugs to treat diseases of the microvasculature. Our anti-ceramide antibodies are designed to block the formation of ceramide-rich platforms (CRPs) on the extracellular leaflets of the plasma membranes of endothelial cells when injuries to these cells occur. Once formed, CRPs signal cell injury and cell death. The company's technology is based upon the unique discoveries of CRP biology licensed exclusively from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, worldwide.  

Ceramedix, Inc. operates from the biotech accelerator at BIOLabs@NYU Langone in Long Island City, New York. Ceramedix participated in the 2025 Endless Frontier Labs (EFL) accelerator program at the NYU Stern School of Business.

For additional information about Ceramedix, Inc., please visit https://ceramedix.com/ 

The research described in this release is funded by NIAID through contract number 75N93026C00007. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of Ceramedix, Inc. and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or NIAID.

Contact at Ceramedix, Inc.:

Olivia Beane
Senior Operations Manager
[email protected]

SOURCE Ceramedix, Inc.