Theolytics Secures €8 Million EU Grant to Advance Novel Oncolytic Immunotherapy for Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
Key Insights
Theolytics (search) has been awarded €8 million in non-dilutive grant funding from Horizon Europe 2025 to advance its Phase 2 OCTOPOD-IV clinical trial of THEO-260 in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (search).
THEO-260 is a novel oncolytic immunotherapy designed to kill both cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (search) while inducing immune activation in stroma-rich solid tumors (search).
The competitive funding award validates the company's innovative approach to addressing significant unmet medical needs in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, whose life expectancy is typically one year or less.
Theolytics (search), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation oncolytic immunotherapies, has been awarded €8 million in non-dilutive grant funding from Horizon Europe 2025, pending final negotiation. The European Union's flagship research and innovation funding programme will support the company's Phase 2 OCTOPOD-IV clinical trial evaluating THEO-260, a novel therapeutic candidate designed to address unmet needs in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
The competitive funding award highlights Theolytics (search)' innovative science and strong clinical development plan, following a rigorous grant review process. Two-thirds of the funds will be received directly by Theolytics to advance the OCTOPOD-IV Phase 2a expansion trial, while the remaining third will be deployed to partner institutions supporting the trial.
Novel Dual-Target Mechanism for Stroma-Rich Tumors
THEO-260 is positioned to tackle the complex, immune-suppressed nature of advanced solid tumors through its unique dual mechanism of action. The oncolytic immunotherapy is designed for effective killing of both cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (search) (CAFs), while simultaneously inducing immune activation. Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (search) represents a prototype of the broader category of stroma-rich solid tumors (search) for which THEO-260 is being developed.
"The Horizon Europe award validates both the scientific rationale behind our THEO-260 programme and the huge potential of its novel oncolytic and 'CAF-lytic' mechanism to address a significant unmet need in stroma-rich solid cancers," said Margaret Duffy, CSO and Co-founder of Theolytics (search). "By integrating advanced translational analyses into our clinical trial design, we will clinically demonstrate the differentiated mechanism of action of THEO-260 and provide key data to advance this programme and deliver true impact for cancer patients."
International Collaboration and Clinical Trial Design
The grant application was coordinated with several major international clinical and translational centers involved in the OCTOPOD-IV study, including the University of Navarra and Catalan Institute of Oncology (search) in Spain, the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada, and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, UK.
OCTOPOD-IV (NCT06618235) is a first-in-human, multi-center trial designed to assess safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of THEO-260 in patients with high-grade serous ovarian or endometrioid cancer (search). The trial is also designed to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose and demonstrate THEO-260's differentiated cancer/cancer-associated fibroblast-lytic mechanism of action through comprehensive biomarker analysis.
Prof Alan Melcher, Professor of Translational Immunotherapy at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, emphasized the therapeutic potential: "The differentiated mechanism of action – targeting the stroma and inducing immune activity in the suppressed tumour microenvironment (TME) - of this oncolytic immunotherapy THEO-260 offers the potential to provide an important new treatment option for patients with advanced solid tumours."
Addressing Critical Unmet Medical Need
The funding addresses a significant clinical challenge in oncology. Dr Antonio González, Director of the Department of Medical Oncology and Cancer Center at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, and President of the Spanish Cooperative Group for Gynaecological Cancer Research, highlighted the urgent need for new treatments: "We see many women with advanced platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (search), whose life expectancy is typically only a year or less. There remains a serious lack of effective treatment options for these women, and so we are hopeful that THEO-260 may bring an advance in therapy that will improve and extend the lives of our patients."
Expanding Clinical Development Program
Recruitment at UK and Spanish clinical sites for OCTOPOD-IV is ongoing and will now expand into further international centers, including additional sites in Spain and Canada. The grant will fund up to 20 patients in the Phase 2a expansion study.
Additionally, a second clinical trial (OCTOPOD-IP) in the US has been initiated in collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (NCT07211659), investigating intraperitoneal delivery of THEO-260 to advanced ovarian cancer patients.
Theolytics (search), founded in 2017 and headquartered in Oxford, UK, has pioneered a new approach to develop efficacious, targeted adenoviral candidates suitable for direct and systemic intravenous delivery. The company is backed by international life sciences investors including Taiho Ventures, M Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, Epidarex Capital, Sound Bioventures, BGF and Oxford University Innovation.