Fresh capital for nanomedicine development against chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases
Hanover/Potsdam, January 15, 2020 | Rodos Biotarget GmbH has implemented a financing measure of € 2.3 million. All of the company’s previous investors participated in the associated capital increase. The financing was largely secured by the Brandenburg development bank ILB and the funds from the ERDF program “ProFIT” (1.8 million euros).
At the company’s site in the Potsdam Science Park, Rodos Biotarget is developing a therapeutic concept based on its own nanotransporter platform TargoSphere ® to intervene in fundamental cellular disease mechanisms of chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases (CEAs). CEAs include diseases such as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or chronic inflammatory bowel diseases are sometimes treated very successfully with biologics in their advanced stages.
The nanomedicine approach pursued by Rodos Biotarget differs from such humoral or cellular therapies on the market or in pharmaceutical development in that suitable therapeutics are introduced into antigen-presenting cells with the help of targeted nanotransporters. These immune cells are at the beginning of the individual disease cascades. In CEAs, they are dysregulated and therefore instruct certain T helper cells to release disease-specific signaling substances (e.g. cytokines and chemokines). The escalating inflammatory process results in the development of the symptoms typical of the disease. It is precisely this pathological vicious circle that is to be broken by the approach of Rodos Biotarget GmbH. Ideally, this concept could be applied to a full range of CEAs with high unmet medical need.
About Rodos Biotarget GmbH
Rodos Biotarget has established expertise, know-how and IP in the development of specialty drug formulations for active ingredients from customers and partners in research institutions and the pharmaceutical industry. The company’s TargoSphere ® technology uses cell recognition molecules as target ligands that are introduced into the surface of nanoparticles – with the goal of introducing small molecule, biological, or oligonucleotide therapeutics into specific cells and locations. These nanotransporters can provide numerous benefits, including targeting specific pathological processes, reducing side effects, improving pharmacokinetics, and formulating pharmacologically difficult compounds. Currently, Rodos Biotarget is leveraging its portfolio of cell-specific TargoSphere ® variants to develop treatment options for infectious, immune, and metabolic diseases.
About the ProFIT Programme / Investment Bank of the State of Brandenburg (ILB)
The ProFIT funding programme supports companies and research institutions in the state of Brandenburg with grants and loans for individual and joint projects in the phases of research and development as well as market preparation/market launch. Feasibility studies by external service providers (companies or research institutions) in preparation for research activities are also funded. In particular, the aim is to establish cooperation between science and industry and technology transfer in order to strengthen and accelerate the economic exploitation of research and development results in Brandenburg. The funds used come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of Brandenburg. So far, more than 112 million euros in grants and loans have been approved through ProFIT. www.ilb.de