Cancer Research Horizons and Deep Science Ventures create new immunotherapy company OligoTune

Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK, and Deep Science Ventures, a London-based venture creator, have launched OligoTune, a new immunotherapy company developing a novel RNA-based approach to overcome checkpoint therapy resistance by reprogramming the tumour microenvironment.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed the standards of care for specific solid tumour indications. However, depending on cancer sub-types, up to 70 to 80% of patients fail to initially respond or relapse due to emerging resistance mechanisms [1]. OligoTune seeks to address this unmet need by co-targeting multiple resistance mechanisms with a single drug.

Through a multiplex RNA strategy, OligoTune’s assets have the potential to home in on novel targets (proteins previously considered undruggable, including transcription factors), with the goal to reverse immunosuppression and promote tumour-eliminating immunity. Combined with advanced bioinformatics, OligoTune aims to tailor therapies to individual sub-indications, enabling highly personalised approaches and expanding therapeutic indices.

Deep Science Ventures’ founder-in-residence Loïc Roux has been appointed to steer OligoTune’s strategy, leveraging a deep expertise in drug discovery and in the development of nucleic acid therapeutics, including a stint as Head of Lead Development at Ochre Bio. During the venture creation phase, OligoTune was incubated within Cancer Research Horizons’ Therapeutic Innovation laboratories. OligoTune and Cancer Research Horizons will continue their collaboration, capitalising on Therapeutic Innovation’s strong track record in advancing new drugs from concept to clinic.

OligoTune was designed and built through an alliance between Cancer Research Horizons and Deep Science Ventures, which aims to create new start-ups and tackle some of the most significant challenges in the current cancer treatment paradigm. This alliance built on a previous partnership which led to the formation of three companies. 

Loïc Roux, co-founder of OligoTune and former founder in residence at Deep Science Ventures, said: “I am very excited to partner with Deep Science Ventures and Cancer Research Horizons in this groundbreaking endeavour and to launch OligoTune Limited. Together, we share a vision of transforming cancer treatment through cutting-edge research and development, and we are committed to providing innovative therapies that address the urgent needs of patients, especially those with therapy-resistant solid tumours.”

Hamish Ryder, CEO of Therapeutic Innovation at Cancer Research Horizons, said: “The launch of OligoTune highlights Cancer Research Horizons’ and Deep Science Ventures’ shared commitment to the sector, patients and society. This also illustrates our alliance’s fundamental principles: identifying distinct challenges, developing differentiated approaches and harnessing our expertise and networks to make it happen.”

Dominic Falcao, founding Director at Deep Science Ventures, said: “OligoTune is the fourth in a set of companies systematically designed with our brilliant partners at Cancer Research Horizons to take on major challenges in cancer. OligoTune’s approach complements the strategies of teams such as Neobe, Stratosvir and Enedra to dismantle cancer’s defences and allow us to eradicate it entirely.”

ENDS

[1] Haslam A, Prasad V. Estimation of the percentage of US patients with cancer who are eligible for and respond to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy drugs. JAMA Netw Open, 2019

OligoTune Ltd is dedicated to bringing new hope and improved outcomes to cancer patients through its pioneering RNA technology. Our mission is to create effective, patient-centred treatments that directly activate the body’s immune system within the tumour microenvironment. We are committed to providing innovative therapies that address the urgent needs of patients, especially those with therapy-resistant solid tumours.

Our technology leverages small interfering RNA (siRNA) to reprogramme the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME), targeting key immunosuppressive factors. This approach allows us to address multiple resistance mechanisms simultaneously and target previously undruggable targets. Our solution is flexible, safe, and capable of multiplexing, offering precise and effective modulation of the immune system.

OligoTune is actively developing IND-enabled drug candidates and collaborating with partners to advance our mission. With a strong commitment to research and development, we focus on delivering innovative and patient-centred cancer therapies. Through our groundbreaking work and partnerships, we aim to transform cancer treatment and bring new hope to patients around the world.

Cancer Research Horizons is the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK – the world's largest charitable funder of cancer research. We bring together world-leading minds, bold ideas and the right partners to bridge the gap between academic research and taking drugs to market. We focus on the tougher, more profound ideas that can lead to true innovation, translating them into effective treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients. 

To date, we've played an instrumental role in forming over 70 spin-out companies. We've helped bring 11 cancer drugs to market, borne out of Cancer Research UK's pioneering research. Through these drugs, we have enabled in excess of 6 million courses of treatment for cancer patients across the world. 

With access to Cancer Research UK's network of 4,000 exceptional researchers, and £400+ million of annual research spend, we're a powerful partner in the fight to conquer cancer. By uniting our commercial partnerships and therapeutic innovation capabilities, Cancer Research Horizons is uniquely placed to support translational funding, entrepreneurial development, licensing and collaboration, spinout creation, and offer a full spectrum of drug discovery and clinical capabilities. 

Every penny we make goes back into funding the next bold steps, to help bring forward the day when all cancers are conquered. 

For more information and to get in touch with the team, visit cancerresearchhorizons.com.

Deep Science Ventures creates sector-defining companies, contributing solutions to humanity’s existential problems by combining available scientific knowledge and highly technical founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures. Deep Science Ventures operates in four sectors, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture, Computation and Energy, taking a systems-level view of opportunities and partnering with a wide variety of institutions to tackle the challenges defining those areas.