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INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis-based startup that uses technology from Indiana University has received a large grant. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded Anagin LLC a $267,000 grant to test benefits of a compound to treat damage caused by traumatic brain injury.

IU says Xiao-Ming Xu, scientific director of the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Group in the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, is a sub-awardee for the grant. Anagin CEO Eric Messner says Xu will conduct the most important portions of the research at the IU School of Medicine.

“There is a critical need to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying functional deficits after traumatic brain injury,” said Messner. “There is also a need to translate this knowledge into the development of new treatments.”

Xu says the research will investigate an optimal dose of the compound and whether it retains its efficacy “when administered in a delayed reaction.”

Anagin has previously been awarded similar grants to test its compounds to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. It also won the BioCrossroads New Venture Competition in 2014.