- The company aims to become a global leader in precision oncology by redefining Synthetic Lethality to treat large unserved patient populations
- Lead program targets Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) through the FANCM protein complex
Amsterdam, the Netherlands and London, UK – 17 October 2023 – Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, today announces the un-stealthing of its portfolio company Tessellate BIO. The company, which was founded by BioGeneration Ventures (BGV), focuses on novel Synthetic Lethality approaches. Its lead program is focused on cancers that depend on Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT). In 2021, Forbion joined BGV to build out Tessellate and provide the €8m in seed funding.
Tessellate BIO aims to become a global leader in precision oncology by redefining Synthetic Lethality. While Synthetic Lethality approaches targeting Homology Recombination Deficiency (HRD) have been successfully validated in the clinic by PARP inhibitors, there remains a vast and largely unexplored space in Synthetic Lethality beyond HRD.
Forbion General Partner Rogier Rooswinkel added, “ We are delighted to have built an innovative company from the ground up with our joint venture partners BGV in less than three years. Developing innovative precision oncology drugs requires the right scientific and business direction, and at Tessellate BIO, we have assembled world class management by attracting an impressive leadership team of highly experienced entrepreneurs in the life sciences space.”
Tessellate BIO will be led by CEO, Andree Blaukat, previously SVP and head of Oncology Research at Merck KGaA, CSO Jürgen Moll, previously Head of Molecular Oncology Unit at Sanofi; entrepreneur Andrew Lightfoot, as COO, who initially established the company, and Eliot Forster, most recently former CEO of NASDAQ-listed F-STAR has joined as Chair of the Board of Directors. The company is headquartered in The Netherlands with research labs in the UK at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.
