Multi-year grant further explores mechanical conditioning, the emergent tumor biology quantified by the MeCo Score
SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, June 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — MeCo Diagnostics has announced that Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Ghassan Mouneimne, Associate Professor at the University of Arizona, has been awarded $2.5M from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The R01 grant, titled “The Role of Estrogen Receptor in Regulating Breast Cancer Cell Invasion,” will explore the biological mechanisms underlying mechanical conditioning, the biomechanical phenomenon in tumors quantified by the MeCo Score.
The newly funded work will focus on how fibroblasts, tissue mechanics, and fibrotic remodeling shape tumor behavior and breast cancer progression. The project is a collaboration with Dr. Christian Franck, the Bjorn Borgen Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This fundamental research supports the broader translational effort to investigate mechanical conditioning and tumor response to antifibrotic therapy, including nintedanib. The recent availability of generic nintedanib in the United States has created new opportunities to evaluate low-cost antifibrotic drug repurposing strategies for oncology.
A prospective Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the MeCo Score and nintedanib in early-stage HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer is expected to open later this year at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
About MeCo Diagnostics
MeCo Diagnostics Holdings, Inc. is a San Diego-based, seed-stage precision oncology company developing diagnostic tests to enable antifibrotic therapy for multiple cancer indications. The company’s lead asset, the MeCo Score, is the first clinically validated predictive biomarker for antifibrotic therapy for breast cancer.
Press contact:
Keith Grevenitz
MeCo Diagnostics
media@mecodiagnostics.com
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