
Drug Repurposing Venture Challenge kicks off: five teams working on groundbreaking solutions
Drug Repurposing Venture Challenge kicks off: five teams working on groundbreaking solutions
The Drug Repurposing Venture Challenge is in full swing. During this intensive and inspiring program, five innovative teams are working to translate ideas in the field of drug repurposing into viable business ventures.
The first workshop round takes place from 2 to 4 July. Over the course of three days, the teams immerse themselves in the world of their future users and laid a solid foundation for their venture. The second part of the challenge will take place in September, followed by the final on 8 October during the Radboud Investment Day in Nijmegen. The winner will receive a prize of €20,000 to be used at their own discretion provided they focus on the further development of drug repurposing concepts.
The participating teams and their ambitious projects are:
Sherwood
Sherwood is committed to developing a drug-repurposing strategy to improve neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Cri-du-Chat syndrome. An associated biomarker allows them to accurately monitor pharmacological interactions. This innovative approach contributes to both quality of life and quality of care, with a clear and accelerated route to clinical application.
Omnicin Therapeutics
Omnicin Therapeutics is developing Bismocin, an innovative bismuth-based inhalation therapy. This therapy makes resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa sensitive again to existing antibiotics. Bismocin thus offers a promising solution for resistant infections in chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and bronchiectasis.
ELIGLU-STEC
The ELIGLU-STEC team is working to repurpose medication for a serious condition that mainly affects children and the elderly. This multidisciplinary team aims to accelerate access to available, affordable medication for these patients.
SAVE
By SAVE, the focus is on the use of Sirolimus. Sirolimus appears effective in rare congenital vascular anomalies, but due to the rarity of these conditions, relatively few patients have been studied. For future use, registration for this indication and long-term follow-up is essential, as lifelong treatment is often required and knowledge of long-term effects is important.
SIMPATHIC
SYMPATHIC focuses on a potential therapy for Leigh syndrome. By focusing on shared pathomechanisms between rare disorders, the team aims to accelerate the development of therapies for neurometabolic, neurological and neuromuscular diseases.
ZonMw, Oost NL and FAST are proud of these pioneering teams and are looking forward to see the progress in the coming months.
More information: Drug Repurposing Venture Challenge – FAST
