Dutch Startup Nestegg Biotech has been approved for a subordinated loan from Rabobank through their “AIL” program. The loans total €150.000 and will be used to bring new “Lab Automation” products to markets serving Dutch and Flemish research institutes and universities this fiscal year. Nestegg Biotech BV was assisted in applying for the loans by the Manager of Public Funding at the Brightlands Innovation Factory, Hugo Nikkel. Brightlands continues to support the development of Nestegg Biotech’s goal of bringing “enhanced automation” to laboratories performing cutting-edge research across Europe.

The Rabobank Achtergestelde Innovatie Lening or “AIL” program is provided to help with the financing of innovations. It is intended for funding early stage developments in within themes including smart technology for renewables, vitality, and sustainable solutions within the healthcare sector such as medical tech or biopharmaceuticals. More information about the program can be found here.

Obruza is a novel automated system provided by Nestegg Biotech to allow researchers to automate experiments in the fields of regenerative medicine, cell culture, drug development, and diagnostics. Nestegg Biotech has facilities on the Brightlands Maastrich Health Campus, in the southern Dutch province of Limburg. Nestegg Biotech expects to achieve validation of the Obruza system this fall in tandem with their initial partner the MERLN Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Maastricht. Announcement of new customers and partners is expected before the end of the calendar year.

Source: Brightlands

We leven in de eeuw van life sciences: technologische ontwikkelingen maken oplossingen mogelijk die onze gezondheidszorg gigantisch gaan veranderen.  De ontwikkelingen buitelen over elkaar heen. Onderzoeksbureau Motivaction onderzoekt of er behoefte bestaat aan een onafhankelijk journalistiek medium dat zich speciaal richt op mensen die werken in of met biotech, medtech, farma en e-health. Doe hier mee aan het onderzoek

Madam Therapeutics closed its first financing round of 1,1M EUR. The biotech company develops a novel class of antibiotics inspired by the defense mechanisms of the human body. The new funding will be used to continue and accelerate the clinical development of Madam Therapeutics’ lead candidate SAAP-148, by executing a first-in-men proof of concept study starting early next year and preparation of the following clinical phase II trial. The investment comes from a network of European business angels facilitated by Ekoy Investment Partners, De Investeerders Club and Investormatch.

Lead candidate: SAAP-148

When a small subset of bacteria survives antibiotic treatment e.g. by mutations, an infection can get out of control fast. As these resilient microbes thrive, they can group together on a surface—like a wound or a medical device—and encase themselves in a slimy protective layer known as a biofilm. Such biofilm infections “are the really nasty things for patients,” says immunologist Peter Nibbering at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands with whom Madam Therapeutics closely collaborates.

Madam Therapeutics and a team of esteemed Dutch scientists from o.a. Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Amsterdam Medical Center(AMC) have developed a new antibiotic with improved characteristics to fight a broad spectrum of infections. In a recent editorial comment on the new compound on the website of the scientific journal Science, Dr Kim Lewis, a microbiologist at Northeastern University in Boston says that the candidate adds “an important piece … to the puzzle of creating a perfect antibiotic”.

Dr. Remko van Leeuwen, CEO of Madam Therapeutics, comments on this first financing round: “Most of the antibiotic drugs currently in the worldwide clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions. Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency. There is an urgent need for more research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections, otherwise people will die from very simple infections”. Remko van Leeuwen is thrilled to welcome the group of investors to Madam Therapeutics.  “The recent investment clearly represents a growing commitment and understanding from the investment community to the development of new antimicrobial agents and reflects the potential of our drug programs.”

Jaap Wieling, a spokesmen of the investor group says: “This funding will allow Madam Therapeutics to take important steps forward with its lead candidate SAAP-148. Where most traditional antibiotics have a slow acting mechanism of action, SAAP-148 kills the bacteria very fast by attacking them directly from the outside, puncturing the cell membrane and make it deflate. Now with the backing of this solid investor base, the seasoned team will be able to explore the full potential of its technology”.

Ron Byron, Partner at Ekoy invest that helped to successfully put together the investment group says: “From my experience in marketing of antibiotics, I am very much aware of growing need for new antibiotics. Unless antibacterial development is re-energised, there is a serious risk that a growing proportion of infections, especially in hospitals, will become effectively untreatable leading to many unnecessary casualties.”

Source: Madam Therapeutics

Aduro Biotech announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new composition of matter patent related to altered APRIL-binding antibodies, further enhancing the company’s B-select intellectual property portfolio. Specifically, the granted claims cover BION-1301, Aduro’s first-in-class anti-APRIL antibody being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

APRIL

APRIL (A PRoliferation-Inducing Ligand) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily and is primarily secreted by bone marrow and/or myeloid cells. APRIL is overproduced in patients with multiple myeloma and binds to BCMA (B cell maturation antigen) and TACI (Transmembrane Activator and CAML Interactor) to stimulate a wide variety of responses that promote multiple myeloma growth and survival and suppress the immune system so that the tumor cells are protected and sustained in the bone marrow.

BION-1301

Aduro is currently evaluating BION-1301, its most advanced proprietary B-select monoclonal antibody, as a novel therapy for multiple myeloma. Despite new treatments recently approved in multiple myeloma, this disease remains incurable as patients relapse, or become resistant to, currently-available therapies. In preclinical studies, Aduro has established that A PRoliferation-Inducing Ligand (APRIL) plays a crucial part in the protective bone marrow tumor microenvironment. In these studies, APRIL, through the B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), was shown to be critically involved in the survival, proliferation and chemoresistance of multiple myeloma, and upregulates mechanisms of immunoresistance, including PD-L1 upregulation. BION-1301, a humanized antibody that blocks APRIL from binding to its receptors, has been shown in preclinical studies to halt tumor growth and overcome drug resistance. In addition, BION-1301 also demonstrated the ability to inhibit immune suppressive effects of regulatory T cells via TACI but not BCMA in multiple myeloma blood and bone marrow. BION-1301 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical study.

“Blocking APRIL represents a unique approach to treating patients with multiple myeloma and we believe BION-1301 has potential to treat a myriad of oncology indications as well as other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” commented Stephen Isaacs, chairman and chief executive officer of Aduro Biotech. “Ensuring a robust intellectual property position around BION-1301 is inherent to advancing the program and the claims granted in this particular patent exemplify the novel science behind this exciting program.”

U.S. patent 9,969,808 adds to previously issued U.S. and international counterpart patents and patent applications that form Aduro’s APRIL patent portfolio. Claims were granted on the basis that BION-1301 enables full blockade of APRIL binding to both its receptors BCMA and TACI. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that blocking APRIL with BION-1301 not only inhibited proliferation and survival of multiple myeloma cells but also alleviated drug resistance and immune suppression, leading to enhanced myeloma cell killing.1 Further preclinical research by Aduro and its collaborators indicate that blocking APRIL further enhances anti-BMCA cytotoxic cell killing and that prevention of APRIL binding to TACI may also be a potentially important mechanism for BION-1301 to inhibit the function of regulatory T cells.2