Rosalind Franklin University Helix 51 Company UP Oncolytics Secures Wisconsin Economic Development Matching Grant to Advance Oncolytic Virus Therapy for Brain Cancer

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Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

Jun 25, 2025, 10:15 ET

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., June 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- UP Oncolytics, a neuro-oncology biotechnology company based in Milwaukee and a spin-out of the Advocate Aurora Research Institute, has received a $75,000 matching grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) in partnership with the University of Wisconsin. The grant supplements the company's $500,000 SBIR Phase I Fast Track award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), received last year.

Rosalind Franklin University's Innovation and Research Park, located between Chicago and Milwaukee, is designed for collaboration among academic and industry scientists and entrepreneurs. The IRP currently houses six disease-focused research centers. Helix 51, RFU's biomedical incubator, continues to expand its roster of startup, early-stage and international companies.

The funding will support further preclinical development of UP Oncolytics lead therapy — an oncolytic virus targeting gliomas, the most common form of brain cancer. The company is also exploring its application in other cancer types.

In early 2025, UP Oncolytics established and expanded its research laboratories at Rosalind Franklin University's Helix 51 biomedical incubator. Under the leadership of Dr. Parvez Akhtar, chief scientific officer and co-founder, the company recruited senior scientist Dr. Steven Markwell from AbbVie. Dr. Markwell, a cell and molecular biologist, previously served as a postdoctoral research fellow at Northwestern University, specializing in pre-clinical glioblastoma models and tumor microenvironment research.

UP Oncolytics has also strengthened its leadership team. Dr. Gary Gordon, a former oncologist trained at Johns Hopkins, has joined the board. He brings more than 13 years of experience as vice president of oncology development at AbbVie, and has held senior roles at Abbott, Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia, and G.D. Searle.

Michael Rosen, MBA, managing director of RFU's Innovation and Research Park and Helix 51, has joined the board as an observer. With more than 20 years of industry experience at Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and G.D. Searle, and, as CEO, Mr. Rosen has contributed to the development of three cancer biotech companies in Europe and the U.S., including one that successfully went public.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the FDA granted Orphan Drug designation to UP Oncolytics for its oncolytic virus therapy for gliomas.

"We are pleased with our progress over the past year, including the establishment of our new laboratories at Helix 51," said neurosurgeon and UP Oncolytics President and CEO Dr. Richard Rovin. "There is an urgent, unmet need for new treatments for malignant gliomas. We are working hard to bring our oncolytic virus into clinical trials."

"We share Dr. Rovin's enthusiasm for these milestones and look forward to the impact this work could have on glioma patients," said RFU Executive Vice President for Research Dr. Joseph DiMario.

About UP Oncolytics
UP Oncolytics, Inc. was founded in 2022 by Dr. Richard Rovin and Dr. Parvez Akhtar. The company is developing oncolytic virus treatments for rare and resistant cancers like glioblastoma. Learn more at uponc.com.

About Rosalind Franklin University
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science embodies the spirit of inquiry and excellence modeled by its namesake Dr. Rosalind Franklin, whose Photo 51 was crucial to solving the structure of DNA. Recognized for its research in areas including neuroscience, brain-related diseases, inherited disorders, diabetes, obesity, and gait and balance, RFU encompasses the Chicago Medical School, College of Health Professions, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine. Learn more at rosalindfranklin.edu.

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