Dr. William Hawkins’ research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Siteman Cancer Center is ground zero for the company Accuronix Therapeutics. Hawkins is one of the company’s founders. The startup is supported by BioGenerator, the investment arm of BioSTL.

Accuronix develops novel therapies that selectively target cancer cells by getting inside the cell, and attacking from the inside.

“We are starving, selectively, cancer cells,” explained William Hawkins, MD. “We are depriving cancer cells of something they need.”

The company was formed after more than a decade of research collaborations at Washington University School of Medicine, leading to the design of a drug delivery system and molecule that’s now the basis of a new cancer drug in development. The drug is designed to treat pancreatic cancer and is having success in the lab targeting other types of cancer. In particular, the drug has successfully killed synovial sarcoma in early studies.