Peptomyc reaches €5M for its cancer drug

BarcelonaThe biotechnology company Peptomyc continues to make progress in developing its cancer drug. Its co-founder, Laura Soucek, has spent decades studying an oncogen involved in the processes that allow a tumor to develop and progress. This oncogen is Myc, a common factor in many cancers that was long considered untouchable, but Soucek created a partner to trick it, Omomyc, with the aim of inhibiting it and causing cancer cells to die.

The spin-offPeptomyc, founded in 2014 with the support of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), has just secured five million euros to continue developing its therapy. Its first clinical trial was with solid tumors, which are those located in organs and not in the blood. The funds raised will now be used to complete the studies it is conducting to treat pancreatic cancer and osteosarcoma, the most common bone cancer in children—key steps toward commercialization and reaching patients. To accelerate this entire process, the company is considering partnering with a pharmaceutical company.

The funding obtained by Peptomyc was led by the Barcelona-based funds Alta Life Sciences and Aurora Science, joined by new investors such as EIC Fund, part of the European Innovation Council (EIC), and Laudecum. The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) has also renewed its support.