Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 26 October, 2021 - MYOAB, a Dutch-German consortium led by Oxitope Pharma B.V., a Dutch biopharmaceutical start-up dedicated to the discovery and development of medicines for the treatment of inflammatory, fibrotic and cardiovascular diseases caused by oxidative stress, has been awarded a Eurostars grant of approximately €1 million to develop a first-in-class antibody therapy to combat myocardial infarction (MI) induced reperfusion injury as a result of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). In addition to Oxitope, the MYOAB consortium also includes YUMAB GmbH, Amsterdam University Medical Centre (AMC) and Hannover Medical School. This work builds on four decades of research by the Oxitope founders, focused on the use of antibodies that target oxidation specific epitopes (OSE) for the treatment of inflammatory, cardiovascular and fibrotic diseases.
Timely restoration of blood flow to the organ after blockage (reperfusion) is the standard-of-care. However, using this approach, patients are at risk of reperfusion injury defined as cardiac damage (infarct) induced when blood supply and concomitant reoxygenation to the heart is restored. Such damage can account for up to 50% of the final infarct size. Hence, ischemia reperfusion injury is directly related to morbidity, mortality, and overall poor clinical outcomes in ACS patients. With no therapies available to combat this disease, this presents a huge unmet medical need for a large patient population, as worldwide, 1.8 million patients die from ACS every year. ACS patients suffer from a sudden reduced blood flow to the heart which can be caused by MI or unstable angina. In the seven major markets (US, EU5, Japan) almost 1.63 million ACS patients are hospitalized annually.
Based on the breakthrough discoveries published in Nature by the scientific founders of Oxitope, the consortium will develop a first-of-its-kind antibody therapy aimed at drastically improving ACS patient outcomes. Oxitope will lead the project and provide scientific oversight whilst YUMAB will leverage its unique expertise in antibody development to generate and optimize epitope specific antibodies through to the delivery of a pre-clinical development candidate. The matured antibodies will be evaluated, in translational in vitro and in vivo assays by Jeffrey Kroon’s research group at AUMC. Furthermore, efficacy studies in relevant myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury models will be performed by the Hannover Medical School to obtain proof-of-concept.
Prof. Joe Witztum and Prof. Sam Tsimikas, co-founders of Oxitope, noted, “It is exciting to have more than forty years of work being used to provide pragmatic assistance to the more than 1.6 million people globally affected by ACS. While we have dedicated our scientific careers to research dealing with the use of antibodies that target oxidation specific epitopes for the treatment of inflammatory, cardiovascular and fibrotic diseases, we believe at this juncture that this network partnership will assist in providing relief for those severely affected by ACS.”
Forbion Operating Partner and CEO of Oxitope, John Montana added, “This Eurostars grant provides us with an excellent opportunity to broaden our discoveries to investigate antibodies targeting a wider range of oxidation-specific epitopes in disease. We have assembled an excellent scientific consortium and are looking forward to working with AMC, YUMAB and Hanover Medical School on this exciting project to address the significant unmet medical need of patients suffering from ACS.”
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About Eurostars
Eurostars is the largest international funding program for SMEs wishing to collaborate on R&D projects that create innovative products, processes or services for commercialisation. Eurostars is a joint program 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.
About Oxitope
Founded and Seed Financed by Forbion in 2020, Oxitope Pharma B.V. is a Dutch biopharmaceutical start-up dedicated to the discovery and development of medicines for the treatment of inflammatory, fibrotic and cardiovascular diseases caused by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can induce the formation of oxidation specific epitopes (OSEs) that are key drivers of unhealthy ageing and today’s primary source of morbidity and mortality. OSE-related indications include, amongst others, atherosclerosis, fibrotic liver diseases, organ reperfusion injury, respiratory diseases and bone degeneration. By developing a range of advanced therapies against OSEs, Oxitope aims to provide first-in-class therapeutics to halt disease progression and improve patient quality of life.
For more information, please visit: www.oxitopepharma.com
About YUMAB
YUMAB GmbH is a biotechnological SME specialised in human antibody development and optimization for clients and partners worldwide (e.g., Merck, Sanofi, Enleofen, Amunix, University of Stuttgart, NCT, and more). YUMAB builds on more than 30 years of research experience of its founders including Prof. Dr Stefan Dübel who achieved breakthrough inventions in antibody phage display and was one of the drivers of recombinant antibody technologies.
For more information, please visit: YUMAB GmbH: www.yumab.com.
About Amsterdam University Medical Center
The Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences department at AUMC is performing novel translational research in the wide field of cardiovascular diseases. The Atherosclerosis & Ischemic Syndromes is contributing to cutting-edge breakthroughs in this field by performing preclinical pathophysiological research, translational imaging research and clinical trials. One key focus area is the prevention of ischemia-reperfusion damage and microvascular injury.
For more information, please visit: Amsterdam University Medical Centre: www.amc.nl.
About Hannover Medical School
For more information, please visit: Hannover Medical School: www.mhh.de.
About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages well over EUR 1.7 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio)pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion’s current team consists of 20 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 70 companies.
The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA, Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI), AMUF and EFSI facilities and KfW Capital through the Programme, “ERP – Venture Capital Fonds investments”. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.
For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com
Contacts
Oxitope Pharma B.V.
John Montana, CEO
Email: info@oxitopepharma.com
Tel: +44 (0) 79 390 01 307
Forbion
Laura Asbjornsen, Head of Communications
Email: laura.asbjornsen@forbion.com
Tel: +31 (0) 35 699 30 00
Consilium Strategic Communications
Ashley Tapp, Kris Lam
Email: Oxitope@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700