conceptual period

Recipient: University of Cologne 
Funding: Go-Bio initial (01/10/2022 to 30/09/2023, EUR 119,412)

Despite all the advances in medicine many tumour diseases are still not treatable. Be it because patients do not respond to the available glucocorticoid-based cancer drugs due to resistance or because common cancer drugs for glioblastomas (brain tumours) and other tumours of the central nervous system are inaccessible. An example of this is the so-called blood-brain barrier, which represents an insurmountable barrier for many active ingredients and thus prevents their use in drug therapies.

The aim of the EPOXYSTEROLE project is to further develop a new class of active ingredients into a marketable drug. The targeted cancer drug relies on a new class of synthetic agents, epoxysterols. In initial studies epoxysterols have proven to be highly effective against resistant tumour cells and thus represent a promising drug for the treatment of difficult-to-treat cancers such as resistant leukaemia or glioblastoma.

In the exploratory phase the medical-pharmaceutical potential and the chances of transferring the promising technology into practical application will be explored. For this purpose the market situation is being analysed, technical challenges are being defined and potential partners are being identified. As a result of the project, prioritised exploitation options are to be developed. An additional implementation strategy for market entry is to be designed.

feasibility stage

Recipient: University of Cologne
Funding: GO-Bio initial feasibility phase 3 (01/10/2023 to 30/09/2025, EUR 1,095,833.52)

Cancer is one of the greatest threats to humanity and despite all the advances in medicine many tumour diseases are still difficult or impossible to treat. Glucocorticoids, which belong to the so-called steroids, are among the important active ingredients in the chemotherapy of cancer. However, many patients do not respond to the available medications or suffer from tumours that cannot be treated with the majority of available drugs. These include, for example, some brain tumours. With the discovery of a new class of synthetic agents, epoxysterols, which have proven to be highly effective compounds against resistant tumour cells, thereby promising new opportunities are now opening up. Within the EPOXYSTEROLE project framework the efficacy of the substance class is to be demonstrated in animal models and further insights into the mechanism of action are to be collected. The aim is to develop the new class of active ingredients into a marketable drug for the treatment of malignant cancers such as brain tumours that are difficult to treat.