Nitesh Sanghai - From Grass to Grace

"We have invented a molecule in Manitoba. We are friendly Manitobans. And we will extend this  friendliness  globally." 

Nitesh Sanghai became a friendly Manitoban in 2018 when he moved to Winnipeg from India to work under Dr. Geoffrey K. Tranmer as a post-doctoral candidate at University of Manitoba. Dr. Tranmer posed a tough challenge: synthesize a new molecule to help treat ALS. Nitesh hadn't heard of ALS, but inspired by his late father's words to "do something new," Nitesh hit the ground running. 6 months later, Borsantrazole™ was born. 

Join us in this season finale of originALS: more than ALS as Nitesh tells us the story of Borsantrazole™, a story where passion, community, and mutual empowerment drive a narrative of triumph for the ALS community. We discuss the evidence that shows Borsantrazole™ has the potential to improve quality of life and extend life for ALS patients, the battle to manage expectations in the promising pre-clinical stage, and the funding needed to take Borsantrazole™ from bench to bedside. 

Later, Nitesh shares his long and strenuous journey to become a first generation scientist, motivated by support from his father, Jay, and wife, Bhavna. Stick around to the end to hear some tidbits from Bhavna and Nitesh's eldest daughter, Parin!

To read Nitesh's thesis paper, click here.

For more information on Borotherapeutics Ltd., visit https://borotherapeutics.com/.

To read My Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Journey (ALS) from weakness to diagnosis: A Journey of Hope, click here.

And for more information on ALS, visit ALS Canada at https://als.ca/.

If you'd like to share your story on the show, or have ideas for what you'd like to hear us speak about next, send us an email at originals.morethanals@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Episode Transcript

Reference List

Transcript

Flynn 0:00

This podcast is recorded and produced in the township of Tiny, Ontario, on the traditional lands of the Huron-Wendat Nation and the Anishnabek people.

Hayley 0:08

We want to thank the Indigenous people for their past and present stewardship of these lands and waterways, and look to their wisdom to guide us toward a future of harmony and good health for all beings that call Turtle Island home.

Speaker 4 0:24

He's a nice man. He's very funny. He gets the z to do something. He's usually joking around. He goes above and beyond to achieve that goal.

Flynn 0:37

Welcome to Originals More Than ALS, the show where we highlight the lives and experiences of the ALS community to spread awareness, education, and hope. I am one of your hosts, Flynn Mason.

Hayley 0:48

And I'm the other host, Hayley King.

Flynn 0:50

And today we are joined by Nitesh Sanghai.

Hayley 0:53

Nitesh is a first-generation scientist and the 2025 Mitacs Innovation Award recipient for outstanding innovation at the University of Manitoba. He earned his PhD in medicinal chemistry and neuroscience under Dr. Geoffrey K. Tranmer, during which he co-invented a first-in-class therapeutic candidate with the potential to slow the progression of ALS. Driven to translate discovery into impact, Nitesh and Dr. Tranmer co-founded Borotherapeutics Limited, advancing borsantrazole toward clinical development. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Tranmer's laboratory, focused on translating borsantrazole from bench to bedside of ALS patients. Having won the Dr. Ed Kroger Travel Award, Nitesh traveled to Ottawa in April of this year to present his research. He was also awarded the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation Poster Award. He donated 50% of this award to the ALS Society of Manitoba and the other half to the ALS Care and Support Foundation in India. On April 30th, 2026, Nitesh received the Premier Volunteer Service Award from the Government of Manitoba after being nominated by ALS Patients. Most recently, he has also been awarded the University of Manitoba Distinguished Dissertation PhD Award in the health science category for an impactful thesis on scientific discovery for ALS. Committed to community-engaged research, Nitesh collaborates with ALS organizations worldwide, including ALS Canada as a community ambassador and as a board member of the ALS Society of Manitoba. He is dedicating his career to delivering hope for patients facing this devastating disease. His work bridges science, entrepreneurship, and patient-centered innovation across disciplines globally. Welcome, Nitesh, and congratulations. I think the last six months of your life must have been a whirlwind.

Nitesh 3:03

Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Hayley and Flynn, for giving me this opportunity to speak about my research and I would say community-engaged research.

Hayley 3:12

Alright, so Nitesh, let's kind of dive right in here and tell us for starters, why did you choose Dr. Tranmer's lab at the University of Manitoba to complete your PhD?

Nitesh 3:24

Ah, that's a very good question.

Flynn 3:26

Back in India, Nitesh completed his master's degree from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, one of seven schools under India's Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, and considered to be a national center of excellence. This was a dream come true, both for Nitesh and his biggest supporter, his father.

Nitesh 3:44

And my father, when I told him, you know, I got an admission at NIPER, he said, dream came true. Thank you, Nitesh. This is what you know I want you to do. And now, what next? So I told, you know, I wanted to create a meaningful impact in human lives. So he said, okay, just go ahead.

Hayley 4:04

With his father's support, Nitesh began his research in anti-cancer drug synthesizing, characterizing noble compounds to treat cancer. After finishing his master's, Nitesh married his wife Bhavna and began working for Roche Pharmaceutical, the world's largest biotech company based in Switzerland. There, Nitesh worked as a global compliance analyst and eventually a safety scientist and medical reviewer evaluating the benefit-to-risk ratio of Alzheimer's drugs. Nitesh was on a strong path until his father's sudden passing in 2014 changed everything.

Nitesh 4:41

I was in Chandigarh and my mom was back in Jharkhand, a small village called Jharia. And I still remember, you know, there was more than 250 calls on my mobile, and uh 5 a.m. my father was no more. I lost him.

Flynn 5:01

That November, Roche flew Nitesh out to Switzerland to present his global compliance analyst data at Roche headquarters. While sitting on the plane, Nitesh had a realization and it made him think of his father.

Nitesh 5:17

I didn't realize I got a business from Roche. For the first time it happened. And I actually wrote a story in the plane, which I never told to anyone, but I'm going to tell you now. I actually wrote a story. My Swiss journey. I still remember what I wrote. What I wrote was I never thought of going to Switzerland. And at that time I was dying to tell my father, see, your son is going to Switzerland to present about the research and data. So it was a big, big, big, very big thing for me. So anyhow, in 2017, that message from my father that do something new was again and again in my mind, giving me some, you know, motivation that Nitesh, you have to do something new. Because my father used to tell me always, you know, do something new, Nitesh.

Hayley 6:06

After years of listening to his father's voice echoing in his mind, Nitesh made the jump to do something new in 2018. He and Bhavna were married with a daughter, working in the same company, with good pay and a stable life. But Nitesh felt stagnant. He needed to move. And without asking questions, Bhavna supported him, and the search for a new home began.

Nitesh 6:31

I heard that Canada embraces diverse cultures, diverse communities, and there is no racism. So I thought I should apply to Canada. So I started applying to different professors, and one of the professors was Dr. Geoffrey K. Tranmer. I never thought that I will be working on ALS until he picked me from the airport when he was driving me to my apartment. He asked me, Nitesh, do you know about ALS? I said, No, I I have never heard the term about ALS. Because in India nobody knows about ALS. They told me, you know, you know about Edaravone? I said, no, I don't know about Edaravone. And then I feel the journey started. You know, on the very second day I went to the lab, he said, Nitesh, we have to synthesize a molecule to improve the drug properties of the existing FD approved drug, Edaravone. I said, okay. And within I think six months, I have synthesized that molecule. I went to his office and he said, Wow.

Flynn 7:33

A crucial piece of Nitesh's research strategy since his journey began in 2019 has been immersing himself in the ALS community in hopes of understanding their pain. Nitesh also needed the motivation. Bhavna and their daughter Parin were still in India at that point, and Nitesh missed them dearly. He had to do something.

Nitesh 7:53

You know, every person, every people, every student, they do their research. Whatever their supervisor will tell you, oh, you know, you have to do this, you have to do this, and okay, you just move forward. You get results, you publish it, and then all done. But in 2019, I just thought of I have to go to the community and then learn about what is ALS so that I can motivate myself. So I went to ALS Society in Manitoba, I started volunteering for them. Then I heard the word hope. I heard hope many times back in India, like in my life. But when I went to the ALS community, talked to them, experienced their pain and resilience and perseverance. Then I realized hope actually means in India we called it asha, meaning people have hope with the community. Being a researcher, they have a hope with the researcher that one day we will get a drug. Every day, every minute, every second is a hope for ALS patient. So this is how you know I joined Dr. Tranmer's lab, and Dr. Tranmer pushed me, I pushed Dr. Tranmer, and we both together we came up with this drug called Borsantrazole.

Hayley 9:07

Borsantrazole. Bor for boron, san for Sanghai, tra for Tranmer, and Zol stands for Five-membered Nitrogen Ring, a name that tells the story of its makers. But for Nitesh, the most important stories are the ones he tells with the ALS community. Nitesh participated in the CALI program, becoming an ALS Canada Community Ambassador in 2025. He volunteers with ALS Manitoba as a member of their board of directors. He collaborated with Dr. Tranmer and fellow Manitoban Sherry Wityshyn, a person with ALS, to publish My ALS Journey from Weakness to Diagnosis, a Journey of Hope. The paper is a manuscript emphasizing the stages of Sherry's journey from first symptoms to diagnosis. But what's really remarkable is how the paper is framed through a lens of hope. The abstract alone states ALS patients are the beating heart of the ALS community, naming Wityshyn as a true ALS warrior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It goes on to state a core purpose of the paper as hope. We believe her story will inspire and motivate the entire community to learn more about ALS. It is absolutely clear Nitesh has gone above and beyond what's required of him as a researcher, and his candor is inspiring. Yeah, I have that sense of like for researchers, there's no requirement to involve yourself in this community. But you know, you're really showing by example the benefit of that. And I can tell you, as somebody whose mother had ALS, folks with the disease for sure, having hope that there is something coming, even just that people are working on something. This gives meaning to life. There's always that recognition that it's going to take time. And I'm I imagine as we're talking here, we'll chat a little bit about that. But it still is something. It's something better than just being completely in the dark about what researchers do, or essentially being told, put your affairs in order because you will be gone within two to five years. So the hope aspect of it is really critical for people's quality of life.

Flynn 11:27

Yeah. Nitesh presented his thesis defense on the 1st of December 2025. Immediately, he started reaching out to prominent figures in the patient community for feedback on his presentation. He asked for insight from patient voices like Jason Ritchie, Paula Trefiac, Michael Robinson, Shawn Penno, and Al per Kaya, asking the questions he felt were most important.

Nitesh 11:50

Are we doing it correctly? Do we need more? How can we do more and more, and how to reach out to the investors? And what do you think?

Hayley 12:00

Dr. Tranmer has fully supported Nitesh's efforts with the patient community. As a result of his efforts, Nitesh has received some very promising comments from huge presences in the ALS community.

Nitesh 12:15

One of the patients, his presence is huge in the community. He said, You know, Nitesh, you have all the ingredients in your research. I am not used to see this kind of research. This is wonderful. You guys can get easily, you know, funds or grants from various agencies to move this molecule ahead. And these kind of comments gave us more and more optimism. If the patients are saying these things, God will drive us with their blessing. And because of the patient's involvement, recently patients connected us with some funders. Can you believe this?

Hayley 12:55

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah.

Nitesh 12:56

And we are in talks. So that's why I will say, see, I am a very small researcher. There are huge researchers, researchers, scientists available in Americas, Canada's. They are doing heavy, heavy, heavy research. And they know many, many, many people. I don't know how they do things, but this is my recipe. You know, something eternal, you know, calling from my heart that I have to reach out to patients.

Flynn 13:22

Nitesh tells us he's been questioned.

Nitesh 13:24

Nitesh, when are you leaving Manitoba?

Flynn 13:26

But he wants people to know he's loyal to Manitoba, and it's not about the money.

Nitesh 13:32

It's a challenge. We have invented a molecule in Manitoba. We have a huge presence of patients. We are friendly Manitobans. And we will extend this friendliness globally, and we will bring a molecule from Manitoba. I don't want to go. I will be here in Manitoba because I don't want to make money. I want to make stories with the community. You know, my father died, and I know the story behind him. He helped everyone in the community. And that time I didn't realize, but now I can realize because that thing is in me. So one day I think one day we'll do something. And I'm very hopeful.

Hayley 14:16

You will, you will. And yes, please stay with us in Canada. I will say this, you know, when you say, yes, that there are many researchers out there who know a lot of people and um have a lot of experience and have done great things. Nitesh, no one has a bigger heart than you. Sorry, I'm gonna cry now. I gotta get my Kleenexes out. But, you know, um, you're doing great things, Nitesh. And yes, you obviously have a lot of your dad in you. It's hard to overstate the role Dr. Tranmer has played in Nitesh's journey. Nitesh has referred to him as a guru, more than a teacher, more than a mentor, someone who dispels darkness. Nitesh tells us that from the start, he could tell Dr. Tranmer was different than any supervisor he'd previously encountered.

Nitesh 15:19

I applied to various awards, various things, you know, disappointed. Many times he told me one thing, Nitesh, think big, think about patients, think about what you are going to give to the community. And he empowered not through guidance, he empowered me making a perfect work to life balance. So Dr. Tranmer has a daughter. So when my daughter was born, he came up with you know all the clothes, like 30 boxes of clothes in in the winters. I just got emotional. How can a supervisor come up with you know these clothes, these boots, and these things? My wife was also very very happy, and that gives us a sense that I have to do more and more. So cumulatively, if you see the community insights, the community uh responsibility, the supervisor, how he empowered me, collectively, they made us as a family to go beyond and beyond to get more and more motivated to do more and more for the community. And I think God has given great opportunity. I am fortunate, not many supervisors give this opportunity to a student that go to the community. They see as a wastage of time because supervisor is paying you a money to do research in the lab. They will say, Write papers, write this thing, write that thing, do this thing, do this research. Why are you investing more and more time to community?

Flynn 16:51

Nitesh tells us Dr. Tranmer never asked him to explore the community or to publish papers, but that Dr. Tranmer's ongoing support had inspired him to work harder. In turn, Dr. Tranmer was empowered too.

Nitesh 17:05

He said, Wow, Nitesh, I am very much inspired by what you have done. So that's why he has given me a chance to be a co-founder of the company.

Hayley 17:15

Right.

Nitesh 17:15

Until now, I have never seen a supervisor who will give you a chance investing all the money and tell you, students, will you be a co-founder of a company?

Hayley 17:27

Yeah. Dr. Tranmer is a really special guy too.

Nitesh 17:31

Yeah. Yesterday we had a second board meeting of Borotherapeutics Limited. And he told something very amazing, which I got very emotional. So he said, Nitesh, the way you have empowered or you have inculcated the best in the research, I am giving you, you know, more and more in the company. I was like, and like I told him, you know, not even family members do that. Somebody will invest money for you.

Hayley 17:57

The team has the drug Borsantrazole and the company, Borotherapeutics Limited. Now they're in the process of dealing with the legal side of things, as well as meeting with patients, caregivers, and companies. It's a lot of work, but the pair are determined to keep one another motivated, spurring on their momentum. Nitesh tells us it's Dr. Tranmer's growing mindset that enables their symbiotic relationship.

Flynn 18:24

You're right, Mom, when you say that Nitesh has a really big heart, which is true, Nitesh, you certainly do, but it sounds like Dr. Tranmer does as well. And I know for a fact that, you know, everybody that I've met within the ALS community, whether they're patients or caregivers or people working in the community for ALS Canada or for provincial organizations, everybody in this community has a big heart.

Nitesh 18:46

You know, Dr. Tranmer has a growing mindset. So he has empowered me with everything and has given me the flexibility. So no doubt you have to make trust initially with your supervisor, with your hard work, with your commitment, with your passion and dedication. And then your supervisor can rely on you and give you the trust factor from where you can move ahead. So every component of my research has a story. How I connected with some people, how I connected with collaborators, how Dr. Tranmer gave me the consent. Oh, Nitesh, just move ahead. And that worked very beautifully.

Flynn 19:22

Very good. I I really like what you say there about every part of your research being connected to a story of some kind because I think that really bridges the gap between the science world and the rest of the ALS world. Like for the average person who doesn't have a super deep understanding of medicinal chemistry and pharmaceuticals and whatnot, it can be hard to get super interested in research or to understand that research. But that is the power of storytelling, is the ability to make somebody understand something that is super far out of their purview, right? So I think that that's just a very wise way of looking at research that I haven't heard. As a family of animal lovers, we were naturally drawn to a particular story within Nitesh's research, the mice. Nitesh performs studies on the mice with Borsantrazole, going far above and beyond the standard of care required of him.

Hayley 20:17

I hope I'm not gonna cry again, but oh my god, like you respected the lives of those little creatures. They're serving all of us, and you you didn't treat them as a subject. They were lives and they were part of this whole journey. Yeah, so it really struck me how you cared for those mice.

Nitesh 20:40

Yeah, so what happened was when I started my mice studies, I still remember my first day when I went to the animal room, I was completely sweating because in my life I never ever touched mice. Okay. But then I tried to introspect, you know, Nitesh, you have to do, and this is a challenge, this is the responsibility that I have to do something. Maybe this is the chance I got. Because in life, you always get a one chance for everything.

Hayley 21:13

These were humanized ALS mice showing the same clinical motor phenotypes of human ALS. Once the mice had lost 10% body weight due to muscle atrophy, Nitesh needed to monitor them regularly, but he wanted to go further, aspiring to see the mice daily. Some staff thought this was far too ambitious. Nitesh proved them wrong.

Nitesh 21:39

So then I wrote an email to veterinarian that you know, I want to come daily. She was surprised. She said, Why do you want to overwhelm yourself? It's a lot of work. I said, I don't care. I just want to come daily to see how these mice. Do during the each phase of the clinical progression, meaning presymptomatically, disease onset, symptom onset, and during the end stage. She said, Okay, you can come daily if you want to overwhelm.

Hayley 22:16

She didn't know how much stamina you had.

Nitesh 22:18

Yeah. If you don't want to enjoy with your family, if you don't want to make some vacations. And yeah, I did it. One day I got an email from veterinarian. She said, Nitesh, uh, can I treat your endpoint monitoring sheet as a gold standard in our training? I said, Yes, it's an honor. One comment I got from the veterinarians that people have done mice research, ALS mice research, their mice always get, you know, worse. We have to be very cautious about each and every step because these mice progress very fast. But uh, for your mice, you have taken care, you know, of each and everything coming day and night, writing everything in the endpoint monitoring sheets, writing the symptoms, clinical progression, everything which we have never seen. So I try to learn, you know, from the very first day, you know, I tried to read research, I tried to uh communicate to different researchers uh around the globe. I also tried to imagine how, because I have seen patients in the community. I've tried to imagine, you know, how how patients look like. Yeah.

Flynn 23:26

That's excellent. Nitesh bonded with the animal care team, even naming one of the support staff in his paper, something that the staff member had never seen in decades of working with researchers. After the team received a CIHR grant, which is, quote, a grant designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, end quote, Nitesh organized a party to celebrate with the animal care team.

Nitesh 23:52

I still remember a comment from Sean, one of the Central Element Care staff. She said, Nitesh, I want to tell you something. He said, You know, I've been working here from the last 20 years. Many investigators they did all kinds of work with animals and all. They got several grants, several funds, but they never came here to celebrate together. So I think these kind of blessings have drived us to move forward.

Hayley 24:29

Nitesh gives us a brief rundown of what all goes into something as complex as creating a new molecule.

Nitesh 24:38

We have a drug discovery lab and we have like all the equipment to synthesize, to purify, and to characterize the molecule. It's not easy to synthesize a molecule and then to characterize the molecule. And then we have our world-class collaborators for biomarker studies, for pharmacokinetic studies. We have a dedicated central animal care services in the University of Manitoba. They are very dedicated people. There are a lot of veterinarians, animal care staffs, and I am happy to say that they are my friends.

Flynn 25:15

The research behind Borsantrazole applied a sustainable chemistry approach using the green element boron. If there's one thing Nitesh won't let you forget, it's that there is nothing boring about boron.

Nitesh 25:28

Boron is an element which we eat daily, and its recommended use is 1 to 13 milligram per kg body weight by World Health Organization. What is peculiar about boron is there is nothing boring about boron. Boron is an element which is oxophilic, meaning it loves oxygen. So one of the major causes called oxidative stress is known in the pathophysiology of ALS. ALS is multifactorial, the cause is still not established. But if you read the papers from the last 30-40 years, you will come to know that oxidative stress is a key driver, whether it could be a cause or consequence of any pathological process. So boron loves oxygen, it removes the bad oxygen molecules, meaning free radicals, which creates oxidative stress to kill neurons in your brain and spinal cord.

Hayley 26:33

Nitesh explains that the currently available molecules have poor central nervous system properties, meaning they can't cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the dying neurons. Borsantrazole aims to address this limitation and has shown efficacy within the central nervous system. In the brain and spinal cord of ALS patients, there are high levels of oxidative stress. This oxidative stress activates borsantrazole and converts one molecule into a three-molecule solution.

Nitesh 27:07

First, boron will act as a targeted extinguisher, meaning boron is a chemoselective warhead. It recognizes oxidative stress and it will go to that area where there is more and more oxidative stress. So say for if your oxidative stress is more in brain, it will move towards brain. If your oxidative stress is more in any part of the area, it will be activated. It recognizes the oxidative stress. And then it acts as a targeted extinguisher to remove the oxygen fires, meaning oxidative stress. Secondly, it releases Edaravone, which is an FDA-approved drug, and it is an antioxidant molecule. So it will remove the remaining oxygen fires, meaning remaining oxidative stress. And thirdly, the byproduct of this molecule will be boric acid, which acts as a neuroprotectant by activating the brain's natural defense system called NRF2 system. So one molecule with three solutions. This is our innovative solution to target ALS and with a sustainable green chemistry.

Flynn 28:32

In the preliminary proof-of-concept studies and humanized ALS mice, Borsantrazole had an excellent safety profile, improved quality of life, and extended lifespan by fivefold compared to existing ALS drugs.

Nitesh 28:46

So I want to tell, you know, Borsantrazole could be a gift for 500 Manitobans and more than 500,000 patients globally. It can slow down the progression of the disease or maybe extend the survival.

Hayley 29:00

Yes.

Flynn 29:01

Very cool.

Hayley 29:02

Nitesh made another fascinating discovery. The mice treated with Borsantrazole experienced a reduction in a protein called carbonic anhydrase III or CA3. And this was compared to the control mice. CA3 is just one of many protein signatures Nitesh discovered that demonstrated the efficacy of Borsantrazole. CA3 is of particular interest because it's a protein that is released when skeletal muscle fibers are damaged.

Nitesh 29:40

Back to back two papers, one by Michael Benatar. Their group investigated that CA3 was increased in the ALS patients group. We were very, you know, surprised and that actually validated something in our research. And then after a few days, something came up with the in a nature medicine paper from the large proteomics consortium data. They have investigated that CA3 was increased in ALS patients. And we were then even more surprised. I told Dr. Tranmer this was amazing. I was very surprised that how come CA3? So we are still investigating, you know, we will be publishing this paper, and uh C A3, no doubt now it's validated that C A3 is increased in ALS patients. There is atrophy of skeletal muscle fiber, and because of that the C A3 is released. But that also raises a question whether the pathology starts from muscle to neurons or from neurons to muscle. That also raises a question. And I asked this question to Michael Benatar, and he said that's an excellent question. We have to investigate this.

Hayley 30:54

So so yes, I mean the CA3, there's definitely some potential for it to be a biomarker.

Nitesh 31:01

Definitely. Definitely.

Hayley 31:03

And if it turns out that really the disease does start in the muscle fiber or at the neuromuscular junction, then that might be a biomarker that is going to be predictive before somebody's even symptomatic, perhaps, right? Exactly. So it's pretty amazing. I'm super excited about it.

unknown 31:21

Yeah.

Nitesh 31:21

In a nutshell, what was more surprising, what we did a discovery-based phosphoproteomic study for the first time of the lumbar spinal cord.

Hayley 31:31

Okay.

Nitesh 31:32

So what happened was uh we saw that many serine and threonine regions of the neurofilaments, of both neurofilament light chain and heavy chain, show down regulation of phosphorylation in our Borsantrazole group compared to the control group.

Hayley 31:49

Okay.

Nitesh 31:49

So hyper phosphorylization is known for the ALS pathology. So in our treatment group, down regulation meaning there was a decreased expression of these phosphorylization that gave us more confidence that our drug is doing something.

Flynn 32:06

In order to provide a little bit of context to that science that Nitesh was talking about, we're going to provide a few scientific definitions before moving on. Proteomes are the entire complement of proteins that are or can be expressed by a cell. Phosphoralization is a process in the cell that acts as a molecular switch, activating or deactivating proteins. Proteomics is the study of proteomes and their functions, while phosphoproteomics is a specialized branch of proteomics that identifies, catalogs, and quantifies proteins. Now, despite all of the promising results that we've seen so far, Nitesh is clear. It is early and he does not want to overstate anything.

Nitesh 32:47

We don't want to make false claims here. The study was done entirely for the first time in humanized ALS mice. We have a preclinical data. We are standing in a pre-IND stage, meaning we have synthesis, novel synthesis, we have characterization, we have pre-clinical safety and efficacy data. We have pharmacokinetics data, which is very strong and which shows that our molecule is crossing the blood brain barrier. We have a biomarker studies, both proteomics and phospho proteomics. Very recently we did lipidomics.

Hayley 33:28

Okay.

Nitesh 33:29

So we are in a stage where we have strong preclinical candidate which we really want to move ahead to human trials.

Hayley 33:41

To get to the point of human trials, the Borotherapeutics team needs to do more toxicity studies and go through the formulation process. To do this, they have developed an IND plan or investigational new drug application, which is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational drug or biological product to humans. To execute their plan, they need 3 million US dollars. Okay. Your biggest hurdle right now that you need to overcome before you get to the point of a phase one clinical trial in humans is funding.

Nitesh 34:38

We are highly inspired by the ALS community. We did everything for the ALS community, to the ALS community, and we really want to move ahead this molecule. We are not here to earn money. We really want to move ahead this molecule because we have strong preclinical evidence. And it's not that we are hiding anything. We have already shown this research to many patients. And they said, This looks impressive. We have done lots of meetings. And I want to invite through your podcast, patients group, caregivers, investors, government people. If anybody wants to know about our research, please come. We are ready to move ahead. We are ready to show our research what we have. We want to learn for the people, by the people. Everything is for the people. It can give some time. They can buy these patients, this ALS community can buy some time to live with their, you know, nearer and dearer ones.

Flynn 35:40

Yes.

Nitesh 35:41

So welcome. We welcome everyone.

Flynn 35:44

Nitesh strongly believes that once Borsantrazole has been proven to have a clean toxological profile, there will be more investment opportunities available. But he emphasizes that we really don't have the time to wait.

Nitesh 35:58

We cannot wait here. Because every day, you know, somebody's calling. Oh Nitesh, you know, the Borsantrazole is available for us. I said no. We have done preclinical studies. And I can understand the pain of the patients. You know.

Hayley 36:13

It's frustrating.

Nitesh 36:14

There's nothing. So we don't want to, you know, wait also. It we have already invested seven and a half years. How many years do we have to wait? People have invested billions, billions in repurposing drugs in the UK, in Canada, and even we need 3 million US for a for a new molecule. So something innovative. We also want a chance for the community to shine.

Hayley 36:38

Right. I'm uh I'm meeting with my MP in a couple weeks, and I'm gonna tell him about you, Nitesh.

Speaker 6 36:45

Appreciate it.

Hayley 36:46

Yeah, hopefully he um we gotta get this Canadian collaboration to cure ALS going. We gotta get it going, right? So Nitesh believes innovation is pivotal to the collaboration to cure ALS and feels medicinal chemists ought to play a larger role.

Nitesh 37:05

If you go to conference, what I saw was you know, there will be a lot of neurologists, clinicians. We don't found any medicinal chemistry people who are going to actually synthesize drugs, new drugs. They also need to understand what is the cause and what is the need for the ALS people. Because these medicinal chemistry people, drug discovery people, they are going to synthesize the drugs. Yeah. So we need to change the platform also, inviting medicinal chemists also, inviting those people who are doing interdisciplinary science so that people can think about.

Hayley 37:37

Yeah.

Nitesh 37:38

I know I have written that in the Amyotropic Letters Procedure in the highlight point. Okay that people need to think now that we need drugs from where the drugs will come.

Flynn 37:51

Right, right. That's a very good point. Yeah.

Nitesh 37:55

We need to invite people who actually know about how to develop drugs. Right? Multidisciplinary approach, interdisciplinary science with uh medicinal chemistry, with chemistry, bridging neuroscience. We need to call those people also.

Hayley 38:12

Yes, because it was your knowledge, I mean, your knowledge and Dr. Tranmer's knowledge that allowed you to, within six months of you starting working with him, you had figured something out. You weren't just trying this and that, let's see what works. You thought, okay, here's what the molecule looks like, here's what I'm trying to do. So, what's logical? What makes sense? And only you could figure that out with your knowledge, right? You need the medicinal chemists to figure these things out. What might be an innovative drug? That's going to be the quickest way, right? Somebody who is properly trained.

Nitesh 38:48

That's the thing. If Canadian people talk about ALS disruption, people should also think about breaking the barriers. Who are the people we are missing? We should call those people also who do interdisciplinary science. And Canada needs innovation. We have invested billions, billions, billions in repurposing of drugs. No doubt repurposing is awesome. But the thing is, we should also think about innovation. We are not going to stop. We'll keep the momentum going on. It comes from the heart. This is not my voice, this is the patient's voice who are speaking. We are not going to stop. Time will come, we'll get the money, and this will give me a story.

Flynn 39:28

I I believe so too. And um, I can understand uh why so much funding goes into repurposing medications, right? There is a lot of money on the line, there's a lot of risk in terms of safety and whatnot when you're developing new new drugs. So I do get it. I I understand. But yeah, when we're talking about the beast that is ALS, I mean we call it the Canadian collaboration to cure ALS. We need to get as many people as have knowledge that could be applicable to that journey, need to be involved. So I think you're completely right about needing to invite new people into the space that have skills that are important to that innovation.

Hayley 40:07

Yeah, that's a great discussion we just had there.

Flynn 40:20

Nitesh wanted to tell us a bit more about his long journey as a first-generation scientist, or as he calls it, the journey from grass to grace. Born and raised in Jhariah, a coal mining town where for over 110 years, fires have burned underneath the ground, threatening to collapse people's homes in some areas. Nitesh grew up in a one-room house with nine other people, his father making enough with his clothing business to send one child to school. Nitesh studied hard with dreams of becoming a doctor.

Nitesh 40:49

So it's been like seven years. I haven't been to my home country. I think because it's a higher calling from the God and uh maybe ALS community. They want me to do something for them. But yeah, I still remember, you know, can recall those days when I was in Jharia and I thought of uh becoming a doctor, doctor of medicine. So everybody laughed at me, everybody said, like, you know, how this is going to be possible because we don't have any people in our family who are educated, who have done matriculation also, who can guide you, who can mentor you. So that was a very difficult, challenging that decision for me that I made at that time when I was in matriculation after passing my higher secondary.

Hayley 41:40

For six years, Nitesh took national level exams and was deemed not qualified to proceed on his journey to become a doctor. The disappointment was deeply difficult to deal with, but Nitesh's father knew he would do something great.

Nitesh 41:56

Everybody lost faith in me, except one person, my father, who told me Nitesh, you can do it. Anyhow, I didn't end up becoming doctor, but now I become doctor of philosophy. And maybe God wanted me to do something for ALS community. So that's why it all happened. So everything happened happens in your life for a reason. If I recall all my life from that small room from Jharia where nobody in my family ever thought of, you know, doing matriculation also. And where I am currently, I can see my journey move from grass to grace. I think my efforts and my hard work, my commitment, dedication, passion with my family. If if we can bring uh you know, even a small smile in the community, you know, that gives us a million dollars.

Speaker 6 42:52

Yes.

Nitesh 42:52

You know, and I always tell God, you know, uh, just give me more and more only because so that you know I can give more and more to community in need.

Hayley 43:02

Yes, you know.

Nitesh 43:04

I still remember, you know, from studentship I have to support my family members, my mom because I lost my father, my sister whenever in need. So still I am supporting them. I could have gone, you know, out of Manitoba to earn more and more. There's definitely. But my thing is like I love stories. So one day, you know, one day I think like you know, coming from Jhariah to Canada bring you know glory to the community.

Hayley 43:30

Yes. I think it already has Nitesh.

Flynn 43:33

Not only is Nitesh proudly dedicated to his research in the ALS community, he's a dedicated dad. Part way through our interview, his youngest daughter, Gauri, sick with a cold, climbs into his lap. Later, we hear from his eldest daughter, Parin.

Nitesh 43:48

What kind of dad is your dad?

Speaker 4 43:50

He's a nice dad. He's very funny. Um, he's usually joking around.

Hayley 43:57

Those are the best kind you know what? Flynn's dad is like that. Too.

Flynn 44:00

It's true. Yeah.

Hayley 44:02

We also had the pleasure of speaking with Nitesh's wife Bhavna, who has been crucial in supporting Nitesh throughout his journey, empowering him to accomplish his goals.

Bhavna 44:14

I feel that since I met him, since I know him, he's a very hardworking person. So I feel that whatever he decides to do and gets focused to do, he gets the zeal to do something. It's his in nature that you know he he goes above and beyond to you know to achieve that goal. So whether it takes days, nights, whatever, he does that. So I have seen him working days, nights, putting his each and every effort in doing experiments, and uh and he gave seven to eight years so of his research, this project. So that is the fruit that came out even though uh this Borsantrazole that was not uh very very easy, and he he got emotionally attached to this uh ALS community, which actually gave him the path and uh the dedication to work hard and come out with some something something good for them. Yes, yeah.

Hayley 45:11

Well, thank you, Bhavna, and you know, thank you for being there to support Nitesh. He's told us more than once about how important you are to him, and he couldn't have done all the things that he's done without you to help him by his side. So I I mean this whole story is just as much about you, really, at least in my mind.

Bhavna 45:30

Yeah, I tried I tried my best, you know, to support him with the kids. When he used to do research, so I used to take care of the kids in the lab, Saturdays, Sundays. When when I am also off, so we used to go together. He spent like the weekend, like three to four hours, third during the day in lab. So there I used to look after the kids, so that's how I supported him. Yes, in those days as well, apart from the weekdays.

Hayley 45:54

Yeah, so yeah, yeah, it's a family affair, it's all of you together. Yes, yeah, yeah.

Flynn 46:00

 Before the Sanghais hit the road to make a dance class, Nitesh shares his final message with us. A message that centers around hope.

Nitesh 46:18

My final message is remain hopeful. Hope is a very big word, which I never thought of, you know what is the actual meaning of hope until when I came to the ALS community. I learned about hope that gives me also hope to do better and better to raise hope in the community. My final message is we have done all the hard work with commitment, passion, dedication. We have learned from the community, we will continue to learn from the community and we really want to move ahead, you know, with our drug discovery approach, with our innovative approach towards community to bring hope in the community for the community. My message is please be hopeful so that we could be also hopeful to bring the best for you. We definitely need help for the funds and all, but we will do it. Things are happening. I just wanted to tell all the patient community that things are happening only because of the patient's community. I'm really thankful to everyone, and soon there will be like you know, something coming, and we will share with the community and we'll bring some hope for the community.

Flynn 47:35

That's good. Amazing.

Hayley 47:47

All right. Woo! Well, I that was emotional. I mean, I have such a feeling of hope after that because Nitesh is really smart. Like, I mean, he's brilliant. I don't know, the work that he and Dr. Tranmer have done, it does feel groundbreaking to me. I, you know, hopefully I'm not using the wrong words to describe it, but that's just how I feel. Um, and I'm excited to see where this goes.

Flynn 48:15

Yeah, me as well. And uh we'll make sure that the thesis is linked as a part of our resources for today's episode. So if you at all have any interest in taking a look at it, please do and you know, share this with your your local politicians because it's important and they are in search of that three million US dollars to move things forward. Pretty important project to move forward ideally sooner rather than later. So that's at least if you have any interest at all, let your curiosity guide you and uh go down that rabbit hole because it's pretty cool.

Hayley 48:50

Mm-hmm. It is. I should just mention, you know, an extra big thank you to Nitesh for speaking with us today for a couple reasons. One being that our first interview with him, something went wrong with it and it did not record Nitesh's audio for us. So we we had to redo it. And he was so good about that, they just accepted it and said, you know, no worries, we'll meet again, we'll get it done. Don't worry, don't fret, which of course you and I were fretting big time. And then the other reason is that once again, the weather in Canada causes problems for folks. So in Manitoba this week, there were tornadoes, and Nitesh had flooding in his home, and um, he and his family they've got a cold of some sort, and he and Bhavna had to clean out their basement and pull up carpets, and he had a lot going on, and so again, he he's somebody who could have said to us reasonably, listen, we have to reschedule this, but he didn't. So thank you, Nitesh, so much. You are awesome.

Flynn 49:51

He is, and I always appreciate talking to Nitesh. You know, he's so kind and has such a big heart. I love hearing about his family, and you know, every time we've talked to him, we've seen at least one of his family members. He had one of his daughters on his lap for probably half of the recording today. Uh, it was a little bit distracting because she's really cute.

Hayley 50:11

Yeah, she is, she's a munchkin, that one.

Flynn 50:14

Yeah, and I mean, even today we didn't necessarily get to every single question we had because they had to skedaddle to a dance practice for one of his daughters. Anyways, it's just very admirable, I feel, the way that Nitesh is able to balance all of these things, right? He spends so much time working, but his family doesn't fall to the wayside in that. You know, he seems to be a very present husband and father, and obviously Bhavna is incredibly supportive as well. It's just they're they're such a kind family.

Hayley 50:46

Yeah, I I think we're gonna we're gonna come out and visit you someday, Nitesh, and uh we'll come knocking on your door at the University of Manitoba, and maybe you'll give us a tour and show us the mice, and it will be thrilling for us.

Flynn 50:58

So that brings us to the end of today's episode of Originals More Than ALS. We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Nitesh Sanghai for joining us and sharing his story.

Hayley 51:09

To access a full list of resources mentioned and references used in the creation of today's episode, please check the episode description where you'll find all the links you need.

Flynn 51:19

If you're enjoying Originals More Than ALS, please like, comment, share, rate, and follow us on the podcast platform of your choosing. Not only do your comments really help us improve the show, but these actions help us to branch out of our immediate circles, recruiting a broader audience to join us in the journey for a world without ALS.

Hayley 51:38

And if you'd like to share your story on the show or suggest what you'd like to hear us talk about next, feel free to send us an email at originals.more thanals@ gmail.com.

Flynn 51:49

Thank you so much for listening to the first season of Originals More Than ALS. Keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks for our season one recap, and we hope you'll join us again in September, where we'll be back with more members of the ALS community discussing their experiences and the passions that make them more than ALS. We are extremely grateful for everyone who has been tuning in since December, and we hope to see you come back for season two. Bye for now.