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The winner of the Venture Challenge Spring 2019 is AmbAgon

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First-in-class drugs through targeted stabilisation of protein complexes

During the Dutch Biotech Event where biotech companies of all sizes, from start-ups to scale-ups, meet and get inspired, the LifeSciences@Work Venture Challenge was annouced. This year’s winner of the Spring edition became AmbAgon. The Eindhoven-based start-up develops small-molecule therapeutics for breast cancer by augmenting the tumor-suppressing functions of the 14-3-3 protein.

According to the jury, led by Carine van den Brink, AmbAgon has a strong team that, with their unique combination of expertise, has discovered a new approach towards developing drugs for metastatic breast cancer. A ground breaking method that change the future of cancer patients and their therapy accurance.  

AmbAgon has developed small molecule screening technologies focused on discovering molecules that stabilize the direct interaction of oncogenic transcription factors with so-called 14-3-3 proteins, thereby inhibiting their pathological activities. This approach, to augment the endogenous tumor-suppressing functions of 14-3-3 within different breast cancer types with small molecule drugs, provides for a radically new entry. A method that has been long sought for by the pharmaceutical industry and which is urgently needed in the clinic. 

Luc Brunsveld, AmbAgon: “The Venture Challenge has been a fantastic learning experience for us. It brought us into contact with the Dutch biotech community. Winning this challenge is the absolute icing on the cake.”

The Venture Challenge Spring 2019 started in April this year and ended today at the Dutch Biotech Event, where AmbAgon takes home the €25.000 prize money to invest in their growth. The other highly-motivated participating teams were:  MissionMS, MULTISCREENING, Praxa Sense, and UFO Biosciences. Participating in the Venture Challenge leads to a clear venture plan, as well as to investor-ready pitches. The  LifeSciences@Work Accelerator  is powered by  Health~Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health. 

Contact Luc Brunsveld for more information about AmbAgon.

Venture Challenge Fall 2019:
Call open! – Deadline: 5 September 2019

Our specialised coaching focuses on developing your initial idea into a solid business during a series of boot camps and 1-on-1 coaching and mentoring sessions. Startup teams learn to identify key risks, analyse customer value propositions, develop a validation strategy, learn to build a venture plan and, ultimately, get connected to Life Sciences experts, investors and seasoned entrepreneurs. 

Source: Health~Holland

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Trend analysis: bright future ahead for Dutch biotech

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Today, the leading global business development database Biotechgate presents its 2019 trend report for the Dutch life sciences market. The annual trend report shows that the Netherlands is on track to become a world leading life sciences cluster in 2030.

The total number of biotech companies is growing steadily to 470 in 2019. Oncology remains the most prominent therapeutic area, followed by neurology and infectious diseases. With many ground-breaking companies and world-class universities, the Netherlands is the perfect location for biopharmaceutical innovation in Europe.

Over the years, the Netherlands evolved into a fertile breeding ground for research and development. The number of products in our clinical pipeline slightly increased compared to 2018. At the moment there are 41 phase I, 49 phase II and 13 phase III studies in development. On top of that, almost 100 products are investigated in a preclinical setting. These numbers promise a bright future ahead.

HollandBIO’s managing director Annemiek Verkamman is happy to see the analysis confirms the leading position of the Dutch life sciences sector. “With top-notch scientists, outstanding research and education and great entrepreneurial spirit, we established our leading position in Europe. Add to that the recent relocation of the EMA, and it becomes clear that the Netherlands has what it takes to become one of the world’s top biotech clusters by 2030!”

Click here to go to the Dutch Life Sciences Trend Analysis 2019.

Biotechgate is a global business development database containing nearly 55,000 high-quality company profiles including company descriptions, contact information, product pipeline information, financing rounds and more. Biotechgate is owned and operated by Venture Valuation AG, a Zurich-based company specializing in independent assessment and valuation of technology-driven companies in high-growth industries.Whether you are looking to partner with a Dutch company or looking for a specific service, you’ll find the most complete overview of the Dutch life sciences sector at www.dutchbiotech.com.

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Eurostars project is awarded to VitroScan

A total grant sum of EUR €3.47 million, of which total subsidy ~ €1.82 million has been awarded to a multidisciplinary project, named ‘3D SELECT’. The European consortium consist of six collaborating partners: VitroScan (lead), Anapath, FHNW, Uppsala University, Oncodia, and Robovision. The project uniquely combines expertise in 3D culturing, pathology, genomics, proteomics and AI to accelerate the development of the 3D SELECT platform to analyse drug response on small tumour biopsies from individual patients and identify most efficacious treatment.

Eurostars is a joint programme between EUREKA and the European Commission, co-funded from the national budgets of 36 Eurostars Participating States and Partner Countries and by the European Union through Horizon 2020.

Click here to learn more about VitroScan.

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HollandBIO leestip: Politico slaat spijker op zijn kop

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De komst van het Europees Medicijnagentschap (EMA) naar Amsterdam kan ervoor zorgen dat de Nederlandse Life Science & Health (LSH) sector een enorme boost krijgt. Zoals staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Mona Keijzer in een Kamerbrief van februari dit jaar aankondigde, versterkt het EMA ons nationale LSH-ecosysteem, maar is het essentieel dat alle partijen in de LSH-sector gezamenlijk optrekken om deze kansen te verzilveren. En daar zit hem nou net de angel.

Terwijl het ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat dit momentum aan wil grijpen om meer bedrijvigheid naar ons land te halen, zendt minister Bruins van Medische Zorg tegenstrijdige signalen over het belang van innovatie uit richting de farmaceutische industrie. Eerder schreef HollandBIO al dat Nederland zichzelf in toenemende mate internationaal op de kaart zet als een bananenrepubliek als het gaat om intellectueel eigendom. Laten we in plaats daarvan alles op alles zetten om het innovatieparadijs voor life sciences te worden. Online politiek newsblog Politico slaat met een onvertaalbare titel in ieder geval de spijker op zijn kop: ‘Amsterdam has a drugs problem’. Wat ons betreft een onvervalste HollandBIO leestip!

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AbbVie to Acquire Allergan in Transformative Move for Both Companies

AbbVie and Allergan announced that the companies have entered into a definitive transaction agreement under which AbbVie will acquire Allergan in a cash and stock transaction for a transaction equity value of approximately $63 billion, based on the closing price of AbbVie’s common stock of $78.45 on June 24, 2019.

“This is a transformational transaction for both companies and achieves unique and complementary strategic objectives,” said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie. “The combination of AbbVie and Allergan increases our ability to continue to deliver on our mission to patients and shareholders. With our enhanced growth platform to fuel industry-leading growth, this strategy allows us to diversify AbbVie’s business while sustaining our focus on innovative science and the advancement of our industry-leading pipeline well into the future.”

“This acquisition creates compelling value for Allergan’s stakeholders, including our customers, patients and shareholders. With 2019 annual combined revenue of approximately $48 billion, scale in more than 175 countries, an industry-leading R&D pipeline and robust cash flows, our combined company will have the opportunity to make even bigger contributions to global health than either can alone,” said Brent Saunders, chairman and chief executive officer, Allergan.  “Our fast-growing therapeutic areas, including our world class medical aesthetics, eye care, CNS and gastrointestinal businesses, will enhance AbbVie’s strong growth platform and create substantial value for shareholders of both companies.”

Strategic Rationale

  • New growth platforms and leadership positions to diversify and expand revenue base: The combined company will consist of several attractive franchises with leadership positions across immunology, hematologic oncology, medical aesthetics, neuroscience, women’s health, eye care and virology.  Allergan’s product portfolio will be enhanced by AbbVie’s commercial strength, expertise and international infrastructure.
  • Immediate scale and enhanced profitability for AbbVie’s growth platform: AbbVie’s enhanced growth platform, comprised of growing and durable franchises across highly-attractive therapeutic areas, is expected to grow at a high-single digit annual growth rate well into the next decade, from more than $30 billion in 2020.
  • Financially attractive with immediate EPS accretion: This transaction is expected to be 10% accretive to adjusted earnings per share over the first full year following the close of the transaction, with peak accretion of greater than 20%.1  ROIC is expected to exceed AbbVie’s cost of capital within the first full year.
  • Significant cash flow generation: The success and scale of the combined commercial business ensures funding capacity and flexibility for simultaneous robust pipeline investment, debt reduction and capital return to shareholders. The combined companies generated $19 billion in operating cash flow in 2018.

Structure and Governance

Upon completion of the transaction, AbbVie will continue to be incorporated in Delaware as AbbVie Inc. and have its principal executive offices in North Chicago, Ill.  AbbVie will continue to be led by Richard A. Gonzalez as chairman and chief executive officer. Two members of Allergan’s Board, including chairman and chief executive officer, Brent Saunders, will join AbbVie’s Board upon completion of the transaction.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the Transaction Agreement, Allergan Shareholders will receive 0.8660 AbbVie Shares and $120.30 in cash for each Allergan Share that they hold, for a total consideration of $188.24 per Allergan Share.2 The transaction represents a 45% premium to the closing price of Allergan’s Shares on June 24, 2019.

AbbVie anticipates that the Acquisition will provide annual pre-tax synergies and other cost reductions of at least $2 billion in year three while leaving investments in key growth franchises untouched. The synergies and other cost reductions will be a result of optimizing the research and early stage portfolio, and reducing overlapping R&D resources (~50%), driving efficiencies in SG&A, including sales and marketing and central support function costs (~40%), and eliminating redundancies in manufacturing and supply chain, and leveraging procurement spend (~10%). The synergies estimate excludes any potential revenue synergies.3

AbbVie is expected to generate significant annual operating cash flow, which will support a debt reduction target of $15 to $18 billion before the end of 2021, while also enabling a continued commitment to Baa2/BBB or better credit rating and continued dividend growth.

It is expected that, immediately after the closing of the Acquisition, AbbVie Shareholders will own approximately 83% of AbbVie on a fully diluted basis and the Allergan Shareholders will own approximately 17% of AbbVie on a fully diluted basis.

Click here to read the full press release on the AbbVie website.

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Extra investeringen voor Nederlandse start-ups en scale-ups hard nodig

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Begin deze maand maakte het kabinet bekend dat zij komende jaren 65 miljoen euro extra gaat investeren in Nederlandse start-ups en scale-ups. Een maatregel die hard nodig is, want het huidige financieringslandschap vertoont flinke gaten. Voor start-ups en scale-ups is het momenteel ondoenlijk om voldoende kapitaal aan te kunnen trekken om te kunnen groeien, zeker in sleuteltechnologieën als de biotech. Het kabinet is daarom in gesprek met Invest-NL om te onderzoeken of fondsvorming voor ondernemingen op het gebied van sleuteltechnologieën kan worden bevorderd.

Vorige week verscheen een studie van Technopolis die aantoonde dat Nederland relatief weinig investeert in sleuteltechnologieën. In het onderzoek werden de publieke investeringen in tien focuslanden onderzocht. Waar Nederland vooral inzet op generieke instrumenten als de WBSO en de PPS-toeslag, liggen de investeringen in de onderzochte focuslanden met enkele tienden procenten van het BBP veel hoger. Wil Nederland de positie op het gebied van sleuteltechnologieën behouden, dan ligt het voor de hand om op zijn minst mee te gaan met de ontwikkeling in andere focuslanden en één tot enkele tienden procenten van het BBP extra te investeren in sleuteltechnologieën. En dat is hard nodig, zeker in de biotechnologie.

Gaten in het financieringslandschap

Want hoewel de Nederlandse life sciences sector overloopt van de mogelijkheden, laat de markt het afweten. Zo is er een gebrek aan kapitaal bestemd voor kapitaalintensieve, hoog risicovolle investeringen in de vroege fase (seed en start-ups). Anderzijds ontbreekt het aanbod van kapitaal bestemd voor kapitaalintensieve investeringen in de doorgroeifase (scale-ups). Het resultaat is dat de ontwikkeling van life sciences bedrijven stagneert, dat het bedrijf in financiële nood raakt, of dat het voor een appel en een ei opgekocht wordt door een internationale speler. Met extra investeringen voor start-ups en scale-ups kunnen we deze gaten in het financieringslandschap overbruggen.

Invest-NL als vliegwiel voor innovatie

Met een uitgekiende financieringsmix voor alle fases van ontwikkeling ligt een mooie toekomst in het verschiet. Alleen dan kunnen we het marktfalen aanpakken en de financieringsgaten voor zowel start-ups als scale-ups dichten. Invest-NL heeft alles in zich om een brug te slaan tussen de publieke regelingen en private investeerders. Zo kan het als vliegwiel dienen voor innovatie en kunnen biotech bedrijven met nog meer slagkracht blijven werken aan innovatieve oplossingen voor onze maatschappelijke uitdagingen op het gebied van gezondheid en zorg.

Meer informatie:

Rapport Technopolis – Publieke investeringen in sleuteltechnologieën https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/brieven_regering/detail?id=2019Z11691&did=2019D24091

Nieuwsbericht Rijksoverheid – Kabinet investeert 65 miljoen euro in beleid startups en scale-ups: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2019/06/03/kabinet-investeert-65-miljoen-euro-in-beleid-startups-en-scale-ups

Wil je meer weten over HollandBIO’s programma ‘Een ijzersterk innovatieklimaat’, kijk dan op de programmapagina

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BIO 2019 in Philadelphia – One to remember

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Last week, a stunning number of 17,300 attendees joined the BIO International Convention in Philadelphia. Branded with the theme “It Starts With One”, BIO highlighted the game changing impact of the small, daily efforts of BIO attendees. One of the exhibition floor’s highlights was the Health~Holland Pavilion, a not-to-miss orange landmark in a sea of country pavilions. Together with a delegation of 120 Dutch biotech entrepreneurs, we look back on a successful edition.

The orange Health~Holland Pavilion was once again the eye-catcher of the exhibition floor. Dressed up with tulips, stroopwafels and a Dutch bike, the pavilion was an orange living room. But most importantly, it was the central information point for international visitors with questions regarding the Dutch business and innovation climate and the national life sciences & health sector.

Biotech hotspot

In a 13 minutes pitch as part of the Global Innovation Hub, HollandBIO’s Annemiek Verkamman zoomed in on today’s Dutch masters of biotech. She explained why the Netherlands has Europe’s most attractive business climate for biopharmaceutical companies. With this year’s relocation of the EMA, the Netherlands has what it takes to evolve into a true global biotech hotspot.

Dutch Strengths

During the Hospitality Reception, the pavilion transformed in one of BIO’s best-visited happy hours. In a powerful and hilarious quiz-style speech, Hans Schikan introduced the one Dutch Strength after another to the eager crowd. His take-home message: the Netherlands is the place to be for life sciences companies. After the traditional raffle of the Loyens & Loeff bike, everyone grabbed the opportunity to meet new business partners. For all disappointed participants of the raffle: rest assured, there will be a new bike to win at BIO 2020 in San Diego.

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Xenikos receives IND clearance Phase 3 trial using T-Guard(R) for treating steroid-refractory acute GVHD

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The Dutch company Xenikos B.V., which develops innovative immunotherapies for treating patients with severe immune disease and post-transplant rejection, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an investigational new drug (IND) application to initiate a U.S.-based clinical Phase 3 registration trial in order to test the efficacy of T-Guard for treating steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGVHD) in patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

This single-arm, multi-center Phase 3 trial (BMT CTN 1802) is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of T-Guard in 47 patients who receive an allogeneic stem cell transplantation and subsequently develop SR-aGVHD. The primary endpoint of the study will be the complete response rate at day 28, and key secondary endpoints will include the duration of complete response and overall survival rate at six months.

“Receiving FDA approval to initiate our U.S. Phase 3 registration trial is a major milestone for us, as it is the next step in advancing T-Guard towards the market,” says Dr. Ypke van Oosterhout, Chief Executive Officer of Xenikos. “Importantly, T-Guard can be administered as a single one-week treatment and was previously shown to promote swift restoration of the immune system, potentially reducing the risk of future infection and relapse. Effective therapies for treating patients with SR-aGVHD are urgently needed, and we believe that T-Guard has the potential to be an important addition to the medical arsenal available for treating patients with this devastating and potentially fatal condition.”

The trial will be conducted in the U.S. by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN), funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which are co-funding the trial. Drawing on its vast network of leading transplant centers throughout the U.S., the BMT CTN is expected to be able to quickly recruit patients for the trial, thereby helping bring T-Guard to market as quickly as possible.

Dr. Gabrielle Meyers, Study Co-Chair, asserts, “The BMT CTN is the only U.S. clinical trial group focused on improving outcomes for transplant recipients. For many years few studies were conducted for steroid-refractory GVHD due to the difficulty in treating this challenging patient population. We are excited about the opportunity to work with Xenikos to bring novel therapies to benefit patients in greatest need.”

Study Co-Chair Dr. John Levine notes, “Steroid-refractory GVHD is the driver for non-relapse deaths after allogeneic HSCT. Poor immune reconstitution and the resulting infections are major contributors to the high mortality. T-Guard’s novel mechanism of action that preferentially targets activated T cells has shown rapid immune recovery and high response rates. This collaboration with the BMT CTN will hopefully develop the confirmatory evidence needed to move T- Guard towards FDA approval.”

T-Guard: Helping reset the body’s immune system

T-Guard is designed to safely and swiftly reset the body’s immune system in life-threatening T cell‒mediated conditions, including transplant-related rejection, acute solid-organ rejection, and severe autoimmune disease. T-Guard consists of a unique combination of toxin-conjugated monoclonal antibodies that target CD3 and CD7 molecules on T cells and NK cells. Preclinical and early clinical testing have shown that T-Guard can specifically identify and eliminate mature T cells and NK cells with minimal treatment-related side effects. Importantly, T-Guard’s action is short-lived, thereby significantly reducing the patient’s vulnerability to opportunistic infections compared to currently available therapies. Xenikos successfully completed a Phase 1/2 study for the second line treatment of SR-aGVHD in patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The results of this study showed that just one week of T-Guard treatment triggered a strong clinical response and doubled the 6-month overall survival rate. These results were published in the peer-reviewed journal Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. In addition to receiving IND clearance in the U.S., T-Guard has also been granted Orphan Drug Designation status in both the E.U. and the U.S.

Source: Xenikos

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Catalyze and BioHealth Innovation announce transatlantic partnership

Catalyze and BioHealth Innovation have entered an agreement to actively bridge the Life Sciences communities in the US and the EU. This transatlantic partnership will increase opportunities for translating biohealth discoveries to market through grant writing services, expanded technology commercialization and international soft-landing support. The two parties have a wide range of resources and knowledge which combined will better aid in delivering high-impact, customer-specific solutions.

BioHealth Innovation, based in Maryland, USA, is renowned for its efforts to source and evaluate market-relevant biohealth intellectual properties, connecting the IP with non-dilutive and early stage funding sources, and assisting businesses with marketing, funding applications and other resources for business growth. Richard Bendis, Founder, President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation: “We are excited to augment our resources for early stage companies with those of the Catalyze team.”

Catalyze Founder and Director Theodoor Rutgers: “This new partnership with BioHealth Innovations creates added value on a global scale. We are happy to be expanding in the US, bridging R&D innovations across the Atlantic.” Catalyze is a market leader in obtaining non-dilutive funding for biomedical and healthcare innovations. The Amsterdam-based company has built a network of more than 2,000 partners around the world, raising over half a billion Euro in funding for clients. According to Catalyze Commercial Director Quirein te Roller: “This is a unique opportunity for us to leverage the strengths of both parties, enabling more innovations and better innovations, to make it to market faster, effectively changing the lives of millions around the world.”

Source: Catalyze

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Biotech Campus Delft opent de deuren voor innovatieve biotechnologie bedrijven

DSM heeft hiermee een belangrijke stap gezet in het openstellen van de Biotech Campus Delft. De Campus is een perfecte omgeving voor innovatieve biotechnologie bedrijven. Die huren hier niet alleen een laboratorium en kantoorruimte, maar krijgen ook toegang tot een breed pallet aan kennis, ervaring en opschalingsmogelijkheden.

De startup Meatable is bezig is om 100% écht vlees op de markt te brengen dat vanuit één cel kan worden geproduceerd, zonder dat daarvoor dieren geslacht hoeven te worden. Voor de startup is dit het perfecte moment om z’n intrek te nemen op de Campus. Krijn de Nood, CEO van Meatable: “De verhuizing naar de Biotech Campus Delft is ontzettend belangrijk voor ons. Hiermee krijgen we als startup toegang tot de expertise van DSM op het gebied van opschaling, product development en voedselregelgeving. Daarmee komt de realisatie van onze plannen weer een paar flinke stappen dichterbij.”

De Biotech Campus Delft is een initiatief van DSM om innovaties op het gebied van biotechnologie te versnellen. De open innovatiecampus, centraal gelegen in Nederland, verwelkomt startups, scale-ups, bedrijven en kennisinstellingen die actief zijn op het gebied van industriële biotechnologie en biedt hen expertise en faciliteiten om innovaties op te schalen, te laten groeien en te commercialiseren. Edith Schippers, President DSM Nederland: “We zijn verheugd Meatable te verwelkomen op de Biotech Campus Delft. Net als DSM houdt Meatable zich bezig met de vraag hoe we in de toekomst onze voedselproductie vorm moeten gaan geven met een groeiende wereldbevolking, klimaatverandering en gezondheidswensen van consumenten. Deze startup kan nu zijn voordeel halen uit de kennis en expertise die beschikbaar is op de Campus. Door samen te werken met kleine innovatieve biotech bedrijven zoals Meatable, komen we sneller tot innovatieve oplossingen die essentieel zijn voor de ontwikkeling naar een duurzame ‘bio-based’ toekomst.”

Bron: Biotech Campus Delft

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