Temple Therapeutics, B.V. (the “Company” or “Temple”), a clinical stage biotechnology company engaged in the development of first-in-class therapeutics for post-surgical adhesion prevention, endometriosis, and oncology, announced today that the Company and its consortium partners will be receiving non-dilutive funding of $3 million to develop a novel therapeutic based on the discovery of a novel target found in a range of solid tumors. The funding is committed by the Eurostars program that is backed by Eureka (35 participating countries) and the European Commission. The consortium partners in the project are Inspherso(Switzerland), University of Gothenburg, The Sahlgrenska Academy, Sahlgrenska Cancer Center (Sweden), and Xenopat (Spain).  The Company’s team consists of leading clinicians and researchers across Europe, UK and USA.

Key partners outside the Eurostars consortium for Temple are Associate Professor and inventor Ghassan Saed, PhD. of Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Center in Michigan, USA, Professor Ahuva Nissim, PhD. of Queen Mary University and William Harvey Research Institute (London, UK) and principal investigator Dr. Rebecca Kristeleit Associate Professor at UCL and Honorary Consultant Medical Oncologist UCLH (London, UK). Internally, Temple has a strong development team lead by CSO Lynne Robertson, PhD. and CMO and Medical Lead, Neil Sankar, MD. Additionally, the team is supported by former Pfizer’s VP of Early Stage Oncology, Pamela Garzone,PhD., who now is the CMO of Calibr at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, USA.

GAINING FURTHER MARKET CREDIBILITY

“Eurostar’s non dilutive grant is a validation of our team, novel science, novel target and commercial potential,” remarks Sanj Singh, CEO of Temple. “As a result, we are currently doing a $45M raise to advance our lead through to registration and bring our exciting pipeline in oncology to the clinic within the next three years. Data and team drives value and we have both. Early interactions with pharma have suggested the best positioning for this program maybe in combination therapy or potentially as a monotherapy for patients who do not respond to immunotherapy or have failed other courses of treatment. We believe the data suggests, that TTX33 may be a potent targeted therapy across a broad range of resistant solid tumors, such as ovarian.”

TTX334ag, the novel target was identified by the scientific lead, Dr. Saed, and has no known molecules in development. However, TTX334ag’s role in cell proliferation and cell survival in cancer are published and established; particularly in resistant cancers such as breast, thyroid, and colo-rectal which shows high correlation of the presence of the target. Early in-vivo data in resistant, cisplatin and chemoresistant ovarian cancers demonstrate high expression of the target and selective killing of cancer cells by over 80%. At the same time, healthy primary cells were minimally or not affected in the same studies. Developing a highly selective and targeted antibody or small molecule could prove valuable for cancer patients who otherwise have no other options.    

Temple is a private clinical stage biotechnology company and is developing first in class therapeutics across three franchises: pharmacosurgical (i.e. novel approach using a drug for adhesion prevention), fibrosis (endometriosis) and oncology. The company is headquartered in Geleen/Maastricht (The Netherlands) and has research affiliations across leading academic centers across the globe. Temple’s focus on interconnectedness and power of the human biology has uncovered novel pathways and potential therapeutics to solve some of today’s largest unmet medical needs.

Source: http://www.templerx.com/blog/details/temple_therapeutics_bv_wins_eurostars_grant_for_novel_oncology_program.html

Ruim 500 biotech bedrijven maakten in 2018 gebruik van de Wet Bevordering Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk (WBSO), zo blijkt uit het jaarverslag over deze fiscale regeling. Zij maken onderdeel uit van een totaal van ruim 20.000 innovatieve bedrijven die dat deden, waarvan 97% midden- en kleinbedrijf (MKB). Dit leverde hen een voordeel op van bij elkaar meer dan €1.1 miljard.

De regeling heeft een aantoonbaar positief effect op de R&D-inspanningen en is dan ook van levensbelang voor biotech bedrijven. Afgelopen jaren nam het aantal bedrijven dat gebruik maakt van de WBSO af, vooral onder startups en MKB. RVO voert in 2019 onderzoek uit naar deze daling. HollandBIO blijft zich, in aanloop naar de begrotingsbehandeling voor 2020 in september, inspannen voor een optimale invulling van deze  voor de life sciences-sector cruciale regeling.

Het volledige WBSO jaarverslag 2018 vind je hier.

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