PRESS RELEASE
Launch of Oxitope Pharma, a biopharmaceutical start-up dedicated to the discovery and development of antibody-based medicines for the treatment of diseases caused by oxidative stress
- Netherlands-based company founded and seed financed by Forbion
- Co-founded by academic leaders in oxidized phospholipid and inflammation biology and managed by drug development veterans
- Technology licensed from University of California San Diego (UCSD)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – 16 September 2021 – Oxitope Pharma B.V. (“Oxitope”), a company committed to enabling people to live longer and healthier lives by treating diseases driven by oxidative stress, today announces its official launch after having been operational since March 2020. Oxitope’s technology is based on seminal work of its co-founders Profs. Joe Witztum and Sam Tsimikas at University of California San Diego. Oxitope was founded and seed financed by Forbion.
Based on a body of research spanning over 40 years published in a range of high profiles scientific papers authored by Profs. Witztum and Tsimikas, Oxitope is dedicated to the discovery and development of medicines that prevent, halt, or reverse acute and chronic diseases driven by inflammation and cell death as a result of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can induce the formation of Oxidation Specific Epitopes (OSEs). OSEs are key drivers of unhealthy ageing and are today’s primary source of morbidity and mortality and play a key role in inflammatory, cardiovascular and fibrotic diseases. By developing a range of advanced antibody-based therapies targeting OSEs, Oxitope aims to provide first-in-class therapeutics to treat a range of cardiovascular, inflammatory and fibrotic indications.
The seed financing provided by Forbion will allow Oxitope to further validate the relevance of therapeutically targeting OSEs in a range of preclinical models of acute and chronic cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, and to nominate candidate antibodies for clinical development. Forbion Operating Partner John Montana has taken the role of CEO. Profs. Joe Witztum and Sam Tsimikas of UCSD will remain as members of the Oxitope board and as scientific advisor and Chief Scientific Officer respectively. Also joining the Oxitope board are Forbion General Partners Marco Boorsma and Vincent van Houten, and Forbion Operating Partner Prof. John Kastelein.
Prof Joe Witztum / Prof. Sam Tsimikas, co-founders of Oxitope, said: “After so many years of fundamental research in the laboratory, it is with great joy that we see the beginnings of the application of the knowledge gained to treatment of inflammatory disorders in humans. It is the dream of all researchers to see their work translated to the clinic and we look forward with great anticipation to this effort.”
Forbion Operating Partner and new CEO of Oxitope John Montana added: “I look forward to the future collaboration with Oxitope’s founders and their team to progress this exciting new therapeutic approach to treating the underlying inflammation and fibrotic activity underpinning a range of oxidative stress induced diseases.” Dr. Montana added: “Backed by four decades of research, I am confident that the scientific network and drug discovery expertise that supports Oxitope will be key to its success.”
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About Oxitope
Founded in 2020, Oxitope Pharma B.V. is a Dutch biopharmaceutical start-up dedicated to the discovery and development of medicines for the treatment of inflammatory, fibrotic and cardiovascular diseases caused by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can induce the formation of oxidation specific epitopes (OSEs) that are key drivers of unhealthy ageing and today’s primary source of morbidity and mortality. OSE-related indications include, amongst others, atherosclerosis, fibrotic liver diseases, organ reperfusion injury, respiratory diseases and bone degeneration. By developing a range of advanced therapies against OSEs, Oxitope aims to provide first-in-class therapeutics to halt disease progression and improve patient quality of life.
For more information, please visit: www.oxitopepharma.com
About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages well over EUR 1.7 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio)pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion’s current team consists of 20 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 70 companies.
The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA, Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI), AMUF and EFSI facilities and KfW Capital through the Programme, “ERP – Venture Capital Fonds investments”. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.
For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com
Contacts
Oxitope Pharma B.V.
John Montana, CEO
Email: info@oxitopepharma.com
Tel: +44 (0) 79 390 01 307
Forbion
Laura Asbjornsen, Head of Communications
Email: laura.asbjornsen@forbion.com
Tel: +31 (0) 35 699 30 00
Consilium Strategic Communications
Ashley Tapp, Kris Lam
Email: Oxitope@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
