Beactica and KU Leuven secure EUR 2.5 million from the European Innovation Council to advance orphan drug BEA-17 to clinical readiness
UPPSALA, Sweden, Feb. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Beactica Therapeutics AB, a Swedish precision medicine company, today announced that it, together with leading glioblastoma researchers at KU Leuven, has been awarded a EUR 2.5 million grant by the European Innovation Council (EIC) to advance a precision immune therapy for glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive brain tumour which currently lacks effective treatment.
In the project GLIOBREAK, Beactica and KU Leuven are joining forces to advance BEA-17, Beactica's wholly owned, first-in-class degrader of the epigenetic protein complex LSD1–CoREST, together with a biomarker-driven companion diagnostic developed based on research carried out by Professor Frederik De Smet and colleagues at KU Leuven. GLIOBREAK aims to progress this integrated therapeutic-diagnostic approach from a validated laboratory stage to early clinical readiness, positioning the programme at the forefront of immuno-epigenetic therapies for glioblastoma. The 30-month GLIOBREAK project builds on results from the ongoing EU-financed project GLIOMATCH and will be led and coordinated by Beactica. The project is targeting the completion of IND-enabling studies and submission of a regulatory application to either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicines Agency (EMA), positioning BEA-17 for first-in-human clinical trials.
EIC Transition is a Horizon Europe grant scheme that funds activities to mature and validate technology while in parallel developing business and market readiness. Grants of up to EUR 2.5 million are available, covering 100% of the project costs. The funding is non-dilutive to the company's shareholders. Beactica and KU Leuven's proposal was one of only 40 selected for financing out of a total of 611 proposals submitted in the most competitive EIC Transition calls ever.
"We are delighted to receive this prestigious EIC Transition award together with our eminent collaborators at KU Leuven. It is a significant validation of our immuno-epigenetic approach to glioblastoma, a disease with devastating outcomes where patients urgently need new therapeutic options. The partnership with KU Leuven and the recognition from the European Innovation Council position BEA-17 at the forefront of precision medicine," said Beactica's CEO, Dr. Per Källblad. "This funding enables us to complete our IND-enabling studies and move toward first-in-human trials, bringing this first-in-class LSD1-CoREST degrader closer to patients."
About glioblastoma (GBM)
GBM is the most common and most aggressive brain tumour. Approximately 35,000 people in the U.S. and Europe are diagnosed with GBM each year. The median overall survival is 15 months, and the five-year overall survival is only 5%.
About BEA-17
BEA-17 is a first-in-class small-molecule targeted degrader of lysine demethylase 1 (LSD1) and its co-factor CoREST. By enhancing antigen presentation, inducing viral mimicry, and reprogramming macrophages toward a pro-inflammatory state, BEA-17 restores immune activity within the tumour microenvironment. In syngeneic animal models of cancer, the candidate drug has shown promising potentiation of immune-modulating treatments across several cancer types, including anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in colon cancer and standard of care treatment (temozolomide and radiation) in glioblastoma. Pharmacokinetic studies of BEA-17 show good blood-brain-barrier penetration and oral availability. BEA-17 has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM). BEA-17 is wholly owned by Beactica Therapeutics.
About Beactica Therapeutics
Beactica Therapeutics AB is a privately held precision medicine company with a pipeline of novel small molecule therapeutics aimed at treating diseases with significant unmet medical need. Beactica's approach is centered around the Eclipsor™ platform that enables the efficient development of allosteric modulators and targeted protein degraders. Beactica deliver value to patients and shareholders by advancing its programmes to clinical proof of concept. For more information, please visit www.beactica.com.
About KU Leuven
Three KU Leuven research teams, led by Prof. Frederik De Smet, Prof. An Coosemans and Prof. Thierry Voet, are collaborating to lay the groundwork for future clinical testing of BEA-17. Prof. De Smet's team focuses on brain tumor biology and (spatial) single-cell profiling of GBM patient samples and coordinates the GLIOMATCH project, translating patient-derived insights into clinically relevant hypotheses. All single-cell and spatial profiling is embedded within the KU Leuven Institute for Single-cell Omics (LISCO), where Prof. Voet contributes leading expertise in advanced (spatial) single-cell technologies. As part of the KU Leuven Cancer Institute, these molecular insights are functionally tested by Prof. Coosemans' team using state-of-the-art GBM mouse models and drug profiling platforms, providing a critical translational step toward the clinic. By integrating patient data, single-cell technologies and preclinical validation, this collaboration establishes a focused pipeline aimed at enabling the next generation of clinical testing for GBM at KU Leuven.
Beactica Therapeutics contact
Per Källblad M.Sc. Ph.D.
CEO
per.kallblad@beactica.com
Tel: +46 18 56 08 80
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