Dignify Therapeutics, a drug startup in RTP that is backed by investor Fred Eshelman, has landed $3.1 million in federal grants to further fund its research.

Dignify’s lead product, DTI-100, is believed to be the only medication ever designed specifically to provide rapid, on-demand, drug-induced voiding as a therapeutic strategy. The object is to provide a form of bladder and bowel control to people with spinal injury, spina bifida, and other neurological conditions.

Eshelman, the founder of PPD, invested in Dignify through his venture investment firm Eshelman Ventures as part of a $3.15 million round in 2015.

The company also has won other grants and has received support from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

The grants came from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute on Aging.

The funds will be used to “support preclinical development of Dignify’s lead product, DTI-100, in preparation for a Phase I clinical study, as well as studies to identify 2nd generation compounds and alternative formulations, through a collaboration with the Division of Pharmacoengineering & Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy,” Dignify explained in a statement.

Dignify is developing novel pharmaceutical treatments for bladder and bowel dysfunction which will significantly improve the quality of life for individuals who rely on bladder catheters and bowel programs for voiding. The Company estimates the worldwide market potential for DTI-100 for people with spinal cord injury will be approximately $400 million annually.

“NIH support is particularly valuable to a small company that is attempting to develop first-ever therapeutics.  The insight gained from our pioneering, NIH-supported studies to develop an “on-demand, rapid-onset, short-duration, drug-induced, voiding therapy” will advance our lead drug development program and ultimately bring a safe, effective, and convenient voiding therapy to quadriplegic and paraplegic individuals to treat this severe, unmet, medical need,” said Dignify Chief Science Officer Dr. Karl Thor.

Dignify is a member of the Blackstone Entrepreneur Network and is based at the First Flight Venture Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.