Captor Therapeutics wins prestigious EIC Accelerator recommendation for funding of project CT-03 (First-in-class MCL-1 degrader therapy for cancer)
Captor Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of drugs based on Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD), is the only company from Poland, and one of the very few biopharma companies in Europe, to have received a recommendation from the EIC Accelerator for funding. With a success rate of only 5.9% at the final stage of the call, the EIC Accelerator is regarded as one of the most competitive grant programmes in Europe. This award is all the more significant for Captor Therapeutics, as it confirms the breakthrough nature of the technology being developed and its potential for use in the treatment of cancers with high unmet medical need, including tumours resistant to standard therapies.
“Receiving the EIC Accelerator recommendation is a great accolade for us and a confirmation of the breakthrough nature of our technology. The financial support will allow us to accelerate the development of an innovative drug candidate that has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of difficult to treat cancers. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) opens up new therapeutic opportunities, and our MCL-1 degrader could significantly improve treatment efficacy in blood cancers, non-small cell lung cancer, and triple negative breast cancer. We are the only company from Poland to receive such a recommendation for funding in this round, which makes this award even more special. The programme not only provides prestigious financial support, but also access to an innovation ecosystem that can support us in successfully bringing our solutions to market”, comments Dr Tom Shepherd, CEO of Captor Therapeutics.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) selected 71 innovative companies for funding out of 1,211 projects submitted, representing a success rate of 5.9%. To date, this was the most competitive funding round since the launch of the EIC Accelerator programme under Horizon Europe.
Among other things, the EIC Accelerator offers innovative companies grants of up to EUR 2.5 million as well as potential equity co-investment. In addition to financial support, all awarded projects can benefit from accelerator programmes, providing access to leading experts, corporate partners, investors and a broad innovation ecosystem.
CT-03 is Captor Therapeutics' second most advanced project, but has very significant potential. It aims to develop an innovative first-in-class therapy that induces MCL-1 protein degradation in cells. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is a novel approach to precisely eliminate proteins, such as MCL-1, that are crucial for the survival of cancer cells. The MCL-1 degrader being developed by Captor allow for the selective induction of cancer cell death and may find application in the treatment of up to 30% of all cancers, where patients have no or few treatment options.
