TUCSON, Ariz., April 8, 2026 — Critical Path Institute’s® (C-Path) Translational Therapeutics Accelerator has awarded a $501,000 grant to Wesley Van Voorhis, M.D., Ph.D., at the University of Washington School of Medicine, to support advancement of a promising new therapeutic candidate for cryptosporidiosis, a devastating diarrheal disease that disproportionately affects young children in low-income and middle-income countries.
Cryptosporidiosis — caused by Cryptosporidium parasites — is a leading cause of prolonged diarrheal illness in children under five years of age. In malnourished children, the disease can be particularly severe, contributing not only to acute illness but also to long-term impacts on growth and cognitive development. Globally, cryptosporidiosis is responsible for an estimated 8 million infections and 200,000 deaths each year, resulting in more than 8.2 million disability-adjusted life years lost annually.
Despite its significant global health burden, there are limited safe and effective treatment options available for pediatric patients. “Too many children around the world suffer from cryptosporidiosis with little hope of effective treatment,” said Dr. Van Voorhis. “We are deeply grateful to C-Path’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator for this support, which allows our team to take an important step toward developing a medicine that could truly change outcomes for this vulnerable population.”
Currently, the only marketed therapy for cryptosporidiosis has limited efficacy in malnourished children and is ineffective in immunocompromised individuals, underscoring the urgent need for new therapeutic options. Dr. Van Voorhis’ pre-clinical candidate, a selective CpCDPK1 kinase inhibitor, BKI-1708, represents a novel therapeutic approach designed to address this critical unmet medical need. Funding from C-Path’s accelerator will support preclinical development activities to advance BKI-1708 toward submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“This project aligns squarely with our mission to accelerate promising drug development research with the potential for real-world impact,” said Maaike Everts, Ph.D., Executive Director of C-Path’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator. “Advancing BKI-1708 toward IND is an important step toward delivering a much-needed therapy for underserved pediatric populations affected by cryptosporidiosis.”
C-Path’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator supports innovative drug development science across a wide range of disease areas, fostering collaborations that bridge academic discovery and therapeutic development to address unmet medical needs. To learn more, visit c-path.org/programs/trxa or contact the team at trxa@c-path.org.
About Critical Path Institute
Critical Path Institute (C-Path) is an independent, nonprofit established in 2005 as a public-private partnership, in response to the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative. C-Path’s mission is to lead collaborations that advance better treatments for people worldwide. Globally recognized as a pioneer in accelerating drug development, C-Path has established numerous international consortia, programs and initiatives that currently include more than 1,600 scientists and representatives from government and regulatory agencies, academia, patient organizations, disease foundations and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. With dedicated team members located throughout the world, C-Path’s global headquarters is located in Tucson, Arizona and C-Path’s Europe subsidiary is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For more information, visit c-path.org.
About C-Path’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator
Critical Path Institute’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator is a global drug accelerator focused on supporting academic scientists in advancing novel therapeutics from university-based labs to drug development pipelines of pharmaceutical companies and, ultimately, the clinic. As a nonprofit neutral convener of patient groups, academia, pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies, C-Path brings a breadth of scientific and drug development planning not available in other accelerator programs. C-Path’s accelerator is uniquely situated to leverage the expertise available through C-Path’s >20 disease-based consortia, as well as regulatory expertise and project management, to empower academic investigators to succeed in bringing safe and effective treatments to patients. For more information, visit c-path.org/trxa or email trxa@c-path.org.
Media Contacts:
Roxan Triolo Olivas
C-Path
520.954.1634
rolivas@c-path.org
Kissy Black
C-Path
615.310.1894
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