Laigo Bio Secures €11.5 Million to Advance Novel Protein Degradation Platform for Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases
核心洞察
Laigo Bio (搜索) raised €11.5 million in seed financing co-led by Kurma Partners (搜索) and Curie Capital (搜索) to advance its SureTAC (搜索)™ membrane protein degradation technology targeting previously "undruggable" proteins.
The company's proprietary platform uses bispecific antibodies to selectively degrade membrane-bound targets involved in oncology, autoimmune diseases, and graft rejection through E3 ligase (搜索) internalization.
SureTAC (搜索)™ technology has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in oncology programs targeting PD-L1 (搜索), VEGF (搜索), and Wnt pathway receptors, showing high selectivity for diseased tissue with improved safety profiles.
Netherlands-based biotech company Laigo Bio (搜索) has successfully raised €11.5 million in seed financing to advance its groundbreaking SureTAC (搜索)™ precision membrane protein degradation platform, targeting previously "undruggable" proteins in oncology and autoimmune diseases. The funding round was co-led by Kurma Partners (搜索) and Curie Capital (搜索), with participation from a strong consortium of European investors including Argobio Studio, Angelini Ventures, Eurazeo, the Oncode Bridge Fund, ROM Utrecht region, and UK-based Cancer Research Horizons.
Revolutionary Protein Degradation Technology
Laigo Bio (搜索)'s proprietary SureTAC (搜索)™ (Surface Removal Targeting Chimeras) platform represents a first-in-class approach to selectively degrade membrane-bound targets that have long eluded traditional drug discovery efforts. Developed in Prof Madelon Maurice's laboratory at UMC Utrecht, the technology creates bispecific antibody molecules that induce degradation by bringing cell surface target proteins into close proximity with surface E3 ligase (搜索) enzymes, resulting in highly selective and deep inhibition of disease pathways in diseased tissues.
The platform leverages E3 ligase (搜索) internalization to stimulate ubiquitination and lysosomal degradation of target proteins with high specificity, achieving deeper inhibition of disease pathways while sparing desirable functions of target cells. This approach addresses a critical gap in targeting membrane proteins that have been validated as disease drivers but remained inaccessible to conventional therapeutic strategies.
Promising Oncology Pipeline Shows Remarkable Efficacy
In its oncology programs targeting the immune checkpoint PD-L1 (搜索), VEGF (搜索), and a hard-to-drug Wnt pathway receptor (搜索), Laigo Bio (搜索) has demonstrated that its SureTAC (搜索)™ degradation technology produces remarkable in vivo and in vitro efficacy. The SureTACs exhibit a high degree of selectivity for targeting diseased tissue, resulting in improved toxicity and safety profiles compared to traditional approaches.
The company plans to advance its oncology programs internally through completion of preclinical studies before seeking pharmaceutical partnerships to bring the candidates into clinical development. This strategy allows Laigo Bio (搜索) to maximize the value of its platform while maintaining control over critical early-stage development milestones.
Leadership and Strategic Vision
The company announced the appointment of Dr. Matthew Baker as Chief Executive Officer, transitioning from his role as acting CEO. Dr. Baker brings more than two decades of experience in inflammatory and oncology drug development, including previous leadership positions as CEO at NeoPhore Ltd., CSO at Abzena, and CEO and CSO at Antitope Ltd. He currently serves as a non-executive director at Fusion Antibodies and previously held the same role at Oxford Genetics.
"This seed funding is a strong endorsement of both the scientific foundation and the unique potential of our approach enabling selective degradation of membrane-bound targets involved in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases," said Dr. Baker. "With these resources, we are well positioned to initiate discovery efforts in auto-immunity and to advance our oncology programs through preclinical development."
Expanding into Autoimmune and Immunology Applications
Beyond oncology, Laigo Bio (搜索) is leveraging the proceeds to accelerate discovery and development of three SureTAC (搜索)™ immunology candidate therapeutic programs targeting selected autoimmune and immunology indications, as well as graft rejection. This expansion demonstrates the platform's versatility in addressing multiple therapeutic areas where membrane protein targets play critical roles in disease pathogenesis.
Strong Investor Backing and Industry Support
The funding round attracted significant interest from leading European healthcare investors. Thierry Laugel, Chairman of the Management Board of Argobio and Managing Partner at Kurma Partners (搜索), expressed enthusiasm for the company's potential: "Kurma is excited to support a company with such a promising technology platform targeting disease pathways that have long been deemed undruggable."
Mariëtte Roesink, Managing Partner of Curie Capital (搜索), highlighted the platform's therapeutic promise: "Curie Capital is proud to support development of Laigo Bio (搜索)'s SureTac (搜索)™ unique platform technology because of its promise in addressing very specific therapeutic targets in diseases with high unmet medical need."
The diverse investor syndicate includes Angelini Ventures, which is investing $300 million across a biotech and digital health portfolio in North America and Europe, and Eurazeo, a leading European investment group managing €36.8 billion across multiple asset classes. The participation of Cancer Research Horizons, the translation subsidiary of Cancer Research UK, underscores the platform's potential impact in oncology.
Foundation and Future Outlook
Laigo Bio (搜索) was founded by the Oncode Institute (搜索), together with the Oncode Bridge Fund and Argobio Studio. The Oncode Institute brings together 62 leading researchers and their teams from 13 partner institutes to pursue cutting-edge, high-risk, high-gain cancer research, providing a strong scientific foundation for the company's development efforts.
The company's team remains focused on achieving key preclinical milestones and progressing its first-in-class lead programs toward early clinical evaluation, with the ultimate goal of delivering transformative therapies for patients with limited treatment options in oncology and autoimmune diseases.