Flamingo Therapeutics has received a research grant of €1.7m from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) to further advance its oncology portfolio targeting RNA.
The grant will help Flamingo to support its translational research in a Phase II study of its lead clinical programme, danvatirsen, to treat head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
It will also support the firm’s preclinical effort on the long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) programme, FTX-001, that targets MALAT-1.
The newly granted award accounts for 60% of the funding of the €2.9m project.
It comes after Flamingo announced a deal in March 2023 to merge its operations with Dynacure.
Flamingo Therapeutics corporate development and operations head Floor Stam stated: “This award provides further validation of our approach in creating a meaningful pipeline of programmes that target undruggable transcription factors and non-coding RNA, such as STAT3 and MALAT-1.
“We thank VLAIO for their partnership and collaboration in helping us build a leading oncology company based on RNA therapeutics.”
Danvatirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide that selectively targets STAT3, has demonstrated clinical activity in two Phase II clinical trials.
It has the capability to bind to STAT3 mRNA, thereby inducing the transcript’s breakdown.
Flamingo is also accelerating the development of its long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) programme, FTX-001, through readiness for a Phase I trial in solid tumours.
LncRNAs are a large and untapped class of targets that cause disease within the human genome’s “dark matter”.
Cell & Gene Therapy coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Cytiva.
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