Beactica Therapeutics AB and KU Leuven have secured €2.5 million in non-dilutive funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to advance BEA-17, a first-in-class precision immune therapy for glioblastoma, toward clinical readiness.
The funding, awarded under the highly competitive EIC Transition program within Horizon Europe, will support the 30-month GLIOBREAK project. The initiative aims to move BEA-17 from a validated laboratory stage through completion of IND-enabling studies and toward submission of a regulatory application to either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency. The program is designed to position the therapy for first-in-human clinical trials.
GLIOBREAK builds on the ongoing EU-financed GLIOMATCH project and will be led and coordinated by Beactica. The project integrates BEA-17, a wholly owned small-molecule degrader targeting the LSD1–CoREST epigenetic protein complex, with a biomarker-driven companion diagnostic developed from research conducted by Professor Frederik De Smet and colleagues at KU Leuven.
The EIC Transition grant supports activities to mature and validate technology while advancing business and market readiness. Grants of up to €2.5 million cover 100% of eligible project costs. Beactica and KU Leuven’s proposal was one of 40 selected from 611 submissions, marking one of the most competitive calls in the program’s history.
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive form of brain tumor, with approximately 35,000 new cases diagnosed annually across the U.S. and Europe. Median overall survival is about 15 months, and five-year survival rates remain at roughly 5%, underscoring the urgent need for new therapeutic approaches.
BEA-17 is designed to degrade lysine demethylase 1 (LSD1) and its co-factor CoREST, enhancing antigen presentation, inducing viral mimicry, and reprogramming macrophages toward a pro-inflammatory state. Preclinical data from syngeneic cancer models have shown promising immune-potentiating effects across multiple cancer types, including synergy with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in colon cancer and with standard-of-care treatments such as temozolomide and radiation in glioblastoma. Pharmacokinetic studies indicate good blood-brain barrier penetration and oral availability. The therapy has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of glioblastoma.
At KU Leuven, three research teams led by Professor Frederik De Smet, Professor An Coosemans, and Professor Thierry Voet are collaborating to support the translational development of BEA-17. The teams integrate brain tumor biology, spatial single-cell profiling of glioblastoma patient samples, and advanced mouse models within the KU Leuven Cancer Institute and the KU Leuven Institute for Single-cell Omics.
Beactica, a privately held company, develops novel small-molecule therapeutics targeting diseases with significant unmet medical need. Its proprietary Eclipsor™ platform enables the development of allosteric modulators and targeted protein degraders, with the company focused on advancing programs to clinical proof of concept.
KEY QUOTE:
“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. 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.”
Dr. Per Källblad, CEO, Beactica Therapeutics AB
