Investment: MonTa BioSciences raises investment for promising cancer treatment
The Copenhagen-based biotech company MonTa BioSciences Aps has just raised 2 million DKK from the incubator Pre-Seed Innovation for their promising cancer treatment. Their new cancer drug is designed to actively train the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Five Danish entrepreneurs from the company MonTa BioSciences have raised €270,000 from the incubator Pre-Seed Innovation and it is well underway in developing an innovative cancer immunotherapeutic treatment. The Danish entrepreneurs have found a method in which the body’s immune system is trained to actively recognize and fight cancer cells. The treatment makes use of nanoparticles of less than one ten thousandth of a millimeter, which is able to deliver an immune activating substance specific for the immune system’s major cell types. MonTa BioSciences is part of the Accelerace life science accelerrator and the international elite Nordic Mentor Network for Entrepreneurship (NOME) which is organized by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Accelerace. “Often cancer cells avoid being detected on the immune system’s radar, but we can now give the immune system a solid boost, so it can recognize and fight cancer cells more effectively than we see today,” says Simon Skjøde Jensen, Ph.D. and CEO of Monta Biosciences, and continues: “With the investment from Pre-Seed Innovation, we can now take the next steps to develop our treatment and come closer to getting the technology to market. It is a big step in the right direction, and together with our previous investment from the Innovation Fund Denmark, we now have a good base to build an even stronger product that will provide unique opportunities for further development and attraction of strategic partnerships and investments.” MonTa BioSciences’ treatment is unique since it can advantageously be combined with a large proportion of the current treatments available on the market, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, antibody based therapy, such as Rituximab or Darzalex, as well as the highly successful immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have been approved over the last year and already used to treat against melanoma and lung cancer. Strong network and management team MonTa BioSciences started as a spinout from DTU Nanotech Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology and it is today part of the international mentoring initiative for life science companies, Nordic Mentor Network for Entrepreneurship (NOME), which is organized by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the startup accelerator Accelerace. The mentor network provides access to experienced biotech entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems in life science in Europe and in the United States and gives startups training and mentorship from some of the most experienced professionals in the Nordics. “Research and new methods continuously provide innovations and new ways to diagnose and treat cancers that have a positive effect in fighting cancer. MonTa BioSciences new cancer drug is both a visionary and a promising treatment method that could potentially increase survival rates among cancer patients significantly. MonTa BioSciences has an experienced and skilled team and with we expect a lot of with the investment from Pre-Seed Innovation, “says Peter Birk, PhD, business accelerator in Accelerace and NOME and biotech investment manager in Pre-Seed Innovation. MonTa BioSciences platform immunotherapy can potentially also be used for treating other diseases where the immune system has a critical role, such as autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, but also in allergic diseases. Monta Biosciences will initially focus on completing the new cancer agent. Read more at Monta Biosciences http://montabiosciences.com/, Pre-seed Innovation http://www.preseedinnovation.dk/ & Accelerace www.accelerace.io that administers Pre-seed innovation biotech investments. About MonTa BioSciences Aps MonTa BioSciences is a Danish biotech company that has developed a new immunotherapeutic treatment particularly for cancer treatment. With MonTa BioSciences’ treatment, the body’s immune system is trained to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. MonTa BioSciences is today part of the accelerator Accelerace and NOME (Nordic Mentor Network of Entrepreneurship), which is an international mentor network for particularly promising life science companies. Read more about MonTa BioSciences here: http://montabiosciences.com About Pre-Seed Innovation Pre-seed innovation is the biggest innovation incubator in Denmark that invests in high-tech solutions. Pre-seed innovation was established in 2009 as a merger between DTU Innovation and Symbion and today works closely with the investment fund SEED Capital. The biotech investments is administered by the accelerator Accelerace who spots, trains and invests in promising startups. Read more on http://www.preseedinnovation.dk/ About Nordic Mentor Network for Entrepreneurship Nordic Mentor Network for Entrepreneurship (NOME) is a best in class mentoring initiative that raises the business potential for promising life science startup companies in the Nordic region. NOME is organized by Accelerace and based on a Novo Nordisk Foundation initiative. The ambition is to build a network of the highest international quality to position Denmark and the Nordic region in a leading position in the commercialization of promising research initiatives and startup companies in the life sciences. NOME currently has 26 mentors and 7 enrolled startups. The initiative is represented in the Nordic region and the US through partnerships with Medicon Village in Sweden, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, Oslo Medtech, and Commonweal in North Carolina in the US. Read more on www.nome.nu]]>