Unco Therapeutics congratulates Dr. Surbhi Chitnis, on receiving 3rd Place for Oral Presentation at the 6th Annual Molecular Pathobiology Innovative Research Symposium (AMPIRS) at the NYU College of Dentistry. The symposium brings together students, postdoctoral fellows, scientists, and faculty to present and discuss cutting-edge biomedical research in a collaborative setting. Surbhi was recognized for her oral presentation, highlighting both the scientific quality of her work and her ability to communicate complex research with clarity and impact. The award reflects her continued contributions to translational biomedical research and her commitment to advancing innovative therapeutic strategies.

Unco Therapeutics was awarded the AbbVie Golden Ticket following a competitive selection process across the U.S. and Europe. The award recognizes early-stage biotech companies developing innovative therapeutics in migraine and provides one year of fully funded lab and office space at BioLabs @ NYU Langone, along with access to AbbVie’s scientific and strategic expertise. This recognition marks a key milestone for Unco Therapeutics, supporting continued advancement of its therapeutic pipeline.

Unco Therapeutics is pleased to welcome Dr. Surbhi Chitnis as Co-Founder & Founding Scientist,  where she will help shape and drive the company’s early therapeutic strategy. Surbhi brings deep experience in small-molecule drug discovery and a strong focus on translating scientific insights into viable therapeutic programs. She joins from New York University, where she contributed to early-stage discovery efforts using structure-informed approaches to guide decision-making. She earned her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University at Buffalo, where her work advanced next-generation targeted cancer therapies through innovative kinase inhibitor design and optimization. At Unco, she will play a central role in defining scientific direction and advancing differentiated therapeutic programs from concept through early validation.

Unco Therapeutics received an NIH STTR Phase I award for the project entitled "Development of Allosteric Uncoupler as Therapeutics for Chronic Pain." This is a collaboration between Unco Therapeutics and the Thomsen Laboratory at New York University. Chronic pain affects millions and is primarily treated with opioids, which are addictive and deadly, contributing to a major public health crisis. In various pain states, GPCRs on sensory neurons drive persistent pain signaling. Some of the most promising GPCR targets for pain, however, have proven difficult to modulate using conventional therapeutic modalities due to unique activation mechanisms that differ from those of typical GPCRs. This award will support the development of novel small molecule allosteric uncouplers specifically designed to disrupt these unique mechanisms. Early candidates show promise in preclinical models but require optimization to improve potency, selectivity, and safety. This project aims to optimize these small molecule scaffolds into patentable, drug-like compounds as effective and safe non-opioid analgesics.