ZURICH, June 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Elthera is pleased to announce that it has been awarded 2.5 M € through the Horizon 2020 programme. Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative, aimed at securing Europe's global competitiveness. Dr. Anne Schmidt, Elthera CEO, said: "We are very pleased and honored to have received this award. This non-dilutive funding will enable the initiation of the process development and will also cover most of the cost for the manufacturing of the clinical candidates, getting us one step closer to assess the safety and efficacy in patients of anti L1CAM antibody therapy for several types of tumors, including ovarian and pancreatic cancer."

Justyna Tisserand, Project Officer at the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) said: "The total budget of H2020 is € 80 Billion and is a means to drive economic growth and create jobs and has the political backing of Europe's leaders and the Members of the European Parliament. Of the 1848 of applications, only 68 grants were awarded, which speaks to the high quality of Elthera's application as well as the potential impact in providing new treatments for cancer."

About Pancreatic and Ovarian Cancer
Pancreatic and ovarian cancer remain areas of large unmet medical need. According to the American Cancer Society, every year, of 100 000 individuals, 12.5 new patients will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with a 5-year relative survival, for all stages combined, of only 5%. Every year, of 100 000 women, 11.5 new patients will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer with a 5-year relative survival, all stages combined, of 47%.

About Elthera
Elthera, a privately held biotechnology company based in Switzerland, is developing first in class antibody for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancer using a personalized health care approach. Elthera obtained the exclusive license from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the largest biomedical research institution in Germany and a leading center in oncology research. Elthera is led by an experienced management team with a track record of successfully bringing compounds from research to the clinic and market.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 858753

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/903148/Elthera_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Elthera AG