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TargED Biopharmaceuticals appoints Ludo Haazen, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

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TargED Biopharmaceuticals, a biotech spin-off of the University Medical Center Utrecht, today announced the appointment of Ludo Haazen as Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

Kristof Vercruysse, CEO of TargED commented: “We are delighted that Ludo is joining our team as CMO. In Ludo, we found the ideal candidate to support the company’s transition from preclinical to clinical stage company. Ludo’s extensive experience and outstanding track record in the clinical development of new medicinal products, including in the field of acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP), will be a valuable asset for TargED Biopharmaceuticals.” In his role as CMO, Ludo will design and lead the clinical development of the company’s lead compound, Microlyse, in patients suffering from aTTP and acute ischemic stroke (AIS), in line with regulatory requirements and with support of TargED’s Scientific Advisory Board. Ludo will directly report to Kristof Vercruysse, CEO.

About Ludo Haazen: Ludo obtained his Medical Degree (M.D.) in 1985 from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium as well a postgraduate certificate in Statistics and Epidemiology. He practiced 2 years as resident in internal medicine and 2 years as general practitioner before starting his career of over 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry. As such, Ludo worked as Global Medical Leader and Global Project Leader at Janssen Research Foundation (J&J), as Regulatory and Medical Affairs Director at Orthovita, and for over 18 years now, Ludo has been consulting start-up and small biotech companies. In this role, he held various functions including that of Head of Pharmacovigilance, Medical Director and CMO. At Ablynx (2013- 2017), he provided expert clinical and medical support in the phase II and phase III clinical development program of Caplacizumab in aTTP. Ludo is also appointed as lecturer and examiner by the Free University of Brussels (ULB), and is Review Editor for the medical journal Frontiers Pharmacology for the section Pharmaceutical Medicine and Outcomes Research.

Ludo Haazen stated: “I am excited to join the dynamic TargED team to ensure an efficient and seamless transition of their promising lead product Microlyse into the clinic. Microlyse has the potential to fill an important medical need in the management of various thrombotic diseases and I want to make sure to maximize this potential from a clinical perspective”.

About TargED Biopharmaceuticals: TargED is a UMC Utrecht spin-off founded in July 2020 by Associate prof. Coen Maas, PhD, Steven de Maat, PhD, Marc van Moorsel and Kristof Vercruysse. TargED stands for Targeted Enzyme Delivery and the company develops first-inclass biological drugs that use small antibodies (“nanobodies”) to deliver enzymes to sites of thrombosis, enabling ‘targeted thrombolysis’. In November 2020, TargED raised a EUR 1.35 million seed investment to develop their lead compound Microlyse. Microlyse accelerates the degradation of blood clots that obstruct the vasculature and, consequently, reduce the risk for organ failure. TargED’s objective is to accelerate thrombolysis in all forms of thrombosis, irrespective of the thrombus composition or location. Its first target indications are acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS).
Contact: info@targedbio.com

Interview with the TargED team and learn more about this exciting venture and its team!

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In November 2020, TargED Biopharmaceuticals from Utrecht, The Netherlands, announced that they closed a seed investment round, and agreed on a public-private partnership with the UMC Utrecht.  For the Utrecht Health Seed Fund, this marked their first closing since opening the fund for investments in April 2020.

TargED’s team has hit the ground running and is rapidly making steps to advance their groundbreaking clot-busting drug, Microlyse. UHSF had the opportunity to sit together with the team for a short interview, to talk about their exciting goals and challenges. Five questions, as the team was eager to get back to the lab!

What are you developing and for whom?

“Thrombosis is a disease that clogs up the vasculature that is essential to provide the human body of essential elements such as energy and oxygen. Thrombosis of the large blood vessels can be removed via a surgical procedure, but this approach does not work for the smaller blood vessels (microvasculature). The latter can only be treated with therapeutic agents that slowly dissolve the blood clot. Unfortunately, current therapeutics have a limited efficacy and have serious side effects. To address the shortcomings of existing therapeutics, we have developed Microlyse, a novel therapeutic compound that works completely different than wat is currently used. While we have originally developed Microlyse for the rare thrombotic disease TTP, we have preliminary evidence that Microlyse could also work well in other thrombotic diseases such as stroke.”

Can you tell us about your team?

“TargED currently consists of the four founders together with three investors. Coen Maas (associate professor @ UMCU; CSO) and Steven de Maat (Post-Doc @ UMCU; CTO) are the original inventors of Microlyse and will help TargED to complete the development of Microlyse both in in-vivo studies as well as product development. Marc van Moorsel (PhD-candidate @ UMCU; COO) leads the business development of TargED and together with Kristof Vercruysse (CEO) forms the management board. Kristof brings a wealth of knowledge to the team from his past experience with the development of Caplacizumab for TTP (Sanofi). Additionally, he supported the development of several compounds from Proof of Concept in animals to marketing approval. Recently, TargED received its seed investment from Utrecht Health Seed Fund, Curie Capital and Fonds InvesteringsRijpe Starters (FIRST). The team is relatively young, but brings outstanding scientific acumen, combined with industry experience from Kristof, and is very eager to bring Microlyse to the market. We look forward to the challenges and success to come!”

What are the key challenges that you are facing as an early stage life science venture?

“Development of a novel therapeutic is a long and costly process. As such, TargED needs to prove that it’s worth the investment. Hereto, we are currently focusing on showing that our product, Microlyse, is effective in multiple forms of thrombosis. In addition, three of us experienced a transition from being solely scientific researchers to being both researcher and academic entrepreneur. A start-up company raises countless, but very interesting discussions outside our comfort zones, i.e., we have to develop ourselves as well as the company.”

What does this seed investment mean for the development of TargED?

“The potential of Microlyse is huge, but needs to be proven. With the investment of Utrecht Health Seed Fund, FIRST fund and Curie Capital, it allows TargED to do exactly that. We will show proof-of-concept in various disease models of thrombosis and start with toxicity studies that are required to eventually receive EMA/FDA market approval. Furthermore, we will further develop the Microlyse compound itself, which allows for producing in a professional setting on a large industrial scale.”

What, in your wildest dreams, will be the impact of TargED for society in the long run?

“Microlyse could be a safe, one-stop-solution in any situation where thrombosis is suspected. This includes millions of peoples worldwide each year. In addition, we will also attempt to develop novel methods for the identification of thrombosis in the smaller blood vessels, which to date, is not possible. This would greatly help patients to receive the proper treatment as fast as possible.”

 

UHSF Fund Manager Jaap de Bruin said: “We’re very excited about TargED as our first investment of the Utrecht Health Seed Fund. The potential of TargED’s product for patients is enormous, and we look very much forward to working with this outstanding team. I would like to thank once more UHSF’s founders & funders, i.e. UMC Utrecht, University of Utrecht, and the European Regional Development Fund (through the Kansen voor West program), who have made this fund, and hence this investment, possible.”

 

For more information regarding TargED:

visit www.targedbiopharmaceuticals.com or contact info@targedbiopharmaceuticals.com

 

For more information regarding UHSF:

visit www.uhsf.nl or send an email to contact@uhsf.nl

 

                 

TargED receives NWO Take-Off 2

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Congratulations to the team of our portfolio company TargED Biopharmaceuticals, as they have been awarded a Take-Off 2 grant from NWO (the Dutch National Science Organization)!

TargED closes seed investment for the development of a next-generation thrombolytic clot-busting drug

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We’re thrilled to announce UHSF’s first investment, in TargED Biopharmaceuticals, together with Curie Capital and FIRST Fund. TargED is developing a next generation clot-busting drug with unique properties, initially focusing on acute ischemic stroke as its target, with several thrombotic diseases as potential spin-offs.
Please find the press release below:
TargED closes seed investment and partners with UMC Utrecht for the development of Microlyse – a next-generation thrombolytic clot-busting drug
November 24th, 2020
Utrecht, the Netherlands – TargED Biopharmaceuticals, a biotech spin-off of the University Medical Center Utrecht founded by Associate prof. Coen Maas, PhD, Steven de Maat, PhD, Marc van Moorsel and Kristof Vercruysse, raised EUR 1.35 million to develop a unique biotechnological drug for rapid degradation of blood clots that obstruct the vasculature. The funds include a seed investment from FIRST fund, Curie Capital and Utrecht Health Seed Fund as well as a public-private-partnership with UMC Utrecht, supported by additional funding from Health Holland.
Every year, approximately 1.3 million Europeans and 800.000 US citizens have a first stroke. Stroke is the second most common cause of death and a major cause of disability in developed economies. The majority of stroke events are caused by an occlusion of a blood vessel (thrombosis). TargED’s Microlyse, a new proprietary clot-busting compound, binds to a protein that is present in all forms of thrombosis, ranging from those that obstruct the largest vessels to the smallest vessels in the body (microvasculature). Due to its unique mechanism of action, Microlyse can stimulate a natural pathway that dissolves these blood clots. This therapeutic approach can be used to rapidly eliminate occlusive blood clots and has the potential to outperform current stroke care therapeutics. Next to acute ischemic stroke, thrombosis is seen in a wide range of cardiovascular conditions for which TargED expects that Microlyse is also applicable, such as the life-threatening disease TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura).
Kristof Vercruysse, interim CEO of TargED said: “The first results of Microlyse based on the work of Coen Maas and Steven de Maat underscore the potential of Microlyse to break down blood clots in various diseases. We appreciate the support from our investors to realize next development steps, and I am honored to be part of a company that has the potential to positively impact millions of lives by enabling patient access to these lifesaving treatments.”
Bart van der Worp, MD PhD, Neurologist specialized in cerebrovascular diseases at the University Medical Center in Utrecht, stated: “Given its mode of action, Microlyse has the potential not only to improve the chance of recanalization of an occluded artery as compared to intravenous thrombolysis using currently available drugs, but also to reduce the risk of intracranial bleeding, the most feared complication of thrombolysis. Greater efficacy and an improved safety profile could lead to better outcomes for thousands of patients worldwide. To assess the potential benefit of Microlyse, further preclinical and clinical research is needed.”
Rianne Ellenbroek, PhD, Investment Manager of FIRST commented: “We are very excited to support the TargED team on their journey to further develop the strong scientific work Coen Maas and Steven de Maat have established with support of the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA). Microlyse is a therapeutic innovation that has a strong potential to lower the burden of cardiovascular diseases related to thrombotic events.”
Background statements
About FIRST
Fonds InvesteringsRijpe STarters (FIRST) is a pre-seed fund that finances pioneering scientists in The Netherlands active in the emerging fields of regenerative medicine and cardiovascular diseases. FIRST is founded by the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA) and Regenerative Medicine Crossing Borders (RegMed XB) with support of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) supports the FIRST fund as registered fund manager, making available its network, expertise, and facilities.
For more information, please visit www.biogenerationventures.com/first.
About Curie Capital
Curie Capital is a private life-science seed fund, based in Amsterdam, investing in early stage Dutch companies with skilled teams and promising medical products in healthcare, together with other VCs. Curie Capital is managed by the two partners, Mariette van der Velden and Han de Groot who both have extensive experience in investing, entrepreneurship and in creating value for companies. Curie Capital invests with the aim to make a positive impact on patients and healthcare.
For more information, please visit https://www.curiecapital.nl
About Utrecht Health Seed Fund
Utrecht Health Seed Fund (UHSF) is an early stage life sciences & health investment fund based out of Utrecht, The Netherlands, focused on scalable technologies in the field of Life Sciences (therapeutics and diagnostics), Medical Devices, Digital Health, and Animal Health in the earliest stages of development. UHSF is established by Utrecht Holdings with the assistance and support of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), UMC Utrecht, and the University of Utrecht.
For more information, please visit www.uhsf.nl.
Contact
Marc van Moorsel
E: marc.van.moorsel@targedbiopharmaceuticals.com