ROANOKE, Va. — Vectorial Corp., a biotechnology company developing new therapies for heart failure, has received a Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties (VTIP) Proof-of-Concept Program award supporting continued development of its technology.

The VTIP Proof-of-Concept Program helps advance promising innovations emerging from Virginia Tech by supporting early-stage technologies as they move toward commercialization.

Vectorial is developing a therapeutic approach to restore the energy processes that power cardiac contraction. Heart failure is increasingly understood as a condition in which the relationship between cellular energy production and mechanical function in heart muscle deteriorates, limiting the heart’s ability to sustain the work required to pump blood effectively.

The company’s research focuses on enhancing mitochondrial energy metabolism in cardiac muscle cells to support sustained cardiac performance. Preclinical studies have shown preservation of cardiac function and prevention of structural changes associated with heart failure progression in models of cardiac stress.

“This award provides important support for advancing a new approach to treating heart failure that focuses on the underlying biology of cardiac energy metabolism,” said Alexey Zaitsev, Ph.D.,  chief executive officer and co-founder of Vectorial Corp. “Programs like the VTIP Proof-of-Concept initiative help move early-stage technologies closer to clinical development.”

The technology originated from research conducted at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in the lab of Assistant Professor Junco Warren, Ph.D., co-founder and president of Vectorial Corp.

“It’s exciting to see discoveries from our laboratory move toward translational development,” Warren said. “This generous support from Virginia Tech will help us accelerate the path from fundamental research to potential therapies that address the underlying biology of heart failure.”

Vectorial will use the funding to further develop its technology and continue validating its therapeutic strategy through additional preclinical research.

Vectorial Corp. is focused on developing mechanism-driven therapies designed to restore the energetic foundation required for healthy cardiac function.