2023-04-26 13:29:53
The Nijmegen company GlycoTherapeutics is developing a new drug against cancer. GlycoTherapeutics wants to validate their method and conduct further research into their strategy with an Early Phase Financing from Gelderland. VFF Gelderland is an instrument for innovative entrepreneurs that has been financed by the province of Gelderland and the National Office for Entrepreneurs. Startup supporter Briskr helped the company through the application process. East NL manages the fund.
GlycoTherapeutics, a spin-off from Radboud University and Radboudumc, focuses on sialic acid and fucose sugars. In many types of cancer, these sugars are elevated on the surface of the cell and ensure that the cancer cell can grow quickly. The sugars are known to help cancer cells evade the immune system and delay treatment. Current immunotherapies do not intervene and work – in the long term – in less than 50% of cases. GlycoTherapeutics has developed a way to block the production of these sugars.
Early stage funding for further validation
Johan Pijnenborg, co-founder and CEO uses the Gelderland Early Phase Financing: ‘The financing enables us to take our idea to the next level. In concrete terms, this means that we want to demonstrate that we can indeed inhibit the growth of cancer, that we can obtain an initial indication through experiments that the medicine is safe and how these products can best be used in the clinic.’
Hester Tak, senior investment manager Health at Oost NL: ‘Because immunotherapy does not have a lasting effect in half of the cases, there is a great medical need for medicines such as those developed by GlycoTherapeutics. The company fits into the ecosystem of drug development in the Nijmegen region. With VFF Gelderland, in collaboration with Briskr, we can guide this type of start-up companies through a difficult first phase. This means that impactful innovations reach the market sooner.’
VFF Gelderland enables starting entrepreneurs or SMEs to investigate whether their idea has a chance of success and thus demonstrates a ‘proof-of-concept’. Gelderland start-up support programs Briskr (Health), Orion (Tech) and StartLife (Food) – in addition to East NL – form the counters for VFF.
Better treatment for the patient
The preclinical research is initially aimed at demonstrating the safety and activity of the drug as a proof-of-concept. The possibilities are then examined in combination with regular treatments, such as immunotherapy or chemotherapy: ‘If everything works, it is expected that this new class of drugs will be used in combination with immunotherapy or chemotherapy in the clinic and that the patient will have better chances of going into remission. to go’, concludes Johan Pijnenborg. Much more research is needed before the drugs are actually on the market. It is expected that it may take another five years before the drugs are used on a large scale.
Collaborations
GlycoTherapeutics works closely with Radboudumc and Radboud University, for example in their KWF Public-Private Partnership and NWO Take-off phase 1 consortia. In addition, the company cooperates with renowned universities and institutes in the Netherlands and abroad.
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