OncoLize raises US$ 1.7 million seed round to locally treat pancreatic cancer ‘From the Inside’

Dutch start-up OncoLize has closed a US$ 1.7 million seed investment round to extend their preclinical success with a localized drug delivery system to treat Pancreatic- and Lung cancer.

The round was led by corner-stone investors Libertatis Ergo Holding (www.libertatisergo.com) and Tailored Solutions (from TomTom co-founder Pieter Geelen) and was joined by three high net worth impact investors. The company holds a worldwide, exclusive license for the oncology technology developed by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland. (www.rcsi.com).

The OncoLize technology uses liquid formulations to deliver a wide range of anticancer drugs in a safe, local and more effective manner, and is suitable for both chemo- and immunotherapy. Injected directly into a solid tumor, the OncoLize liquid formulation thickens within seconds to form a soft gel depot. The depot erodes slowly as it releases its drug cargo over days to weeks at higher concentrations inside the tumor mass. This localized method of delivery will significantly reduce the total drug load and can diminish the many side effects associated with oral or intravenous delivery of anti-cancer drugs.

The company is using the proceeds of the investment to expand the successful preclinical studies and prepare for the First-in-Human pancreatic tumor studies.

OncoLize was founded by serial entrepreneur Mike G.W. de Leeuw, with 17 years’ business experience in developing injectable drug delivery systems, together with industry veterans Dr. Leo de Leede and Prof Dr. Helena Kelly, the inventor of the patented OncoLize technology platform, based at RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences.

The production will initially be done at RCSI, while preclinical testing and surgical procedures will be carried out in Leiden – NL by the team of Dr. Luuk Hawinkels in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) led by Prof. Dr. Jeanine Elise van Hooft.

With the anticipated Series A round in 2024, OncoLize will set up its laboratories at the Leiden Bio Science Park in the Netherlands and prepare for Phase 1/2 trials in borderline resectable PDAC pancreatic cancer. The company aims to expand into other tumor indications, and it has joined a consortium sponsored by the Dutch Cancer Foundation for the localized delivery of modern immune-modulating drugs led by Prof. Dr. Jai Prakash from the University of Twente.