Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

It has been about eight months since we checked in with Lewis Hibbs, the Founder of NKA Bio. He is bringing to market a new medicine for critically ill patients that press pause on death and buy more time for life-saving care.

At the “Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator” Demo Day, Hibbs announced collaborations were in the works with the University of Tennessee (UT) System and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as his technology headed into pre-trials.

Half a year later, he’s announced more exciting news – NKA Bio has completed Phase I of its Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. This is a big deal for the start-up because it proves a successful pilot of the our drug manufacturing process using a cost-saving microbial system. Hibbs said the success of this project will help reduce both development costs and our cost of goods sold.

SBIR grants are often structured as contracts, as was the case with NKA Bio’s situation. Even still, NKA Bio managed to complete the project with a 71 percent profit margin.

Here are the company’s reported successes in 2024:

• Filed the initial provisional patent for our antibody sequences.
• Participated in “Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator” in Knoxville.
• Collaborated with a researcher at the UT, Knoxville.
• Secured the Phase 1 Air Force SBIR contract.
• Added two new advisors with expertise in commercialization, biotech, and grant success.
• Hired a PhD Molecular Biophysicist to support assay development and antibody manufacturing in the lab.

Here are the company’s reported goals for 2025:

• Shift focus toward studies with the aim of starting Phase 1 clinical trials in 2026.
• Animal studies testing the lead NKA01 drug program.
• Dose-finding & formulation studies.
• Toxicology and safety testing.
• Development and Engineering Testing.
• Additional Lab Team Hires.

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