Krakow, Poland-based Ryvu Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company that develops small molecule therapies to address clinical limitations of current oncology treatments, announced on Wednesday that it has received €22M from The European Investment Bank (EIB).
The investment is being offered through the venture debt instrument of the EIB, which is designed to meet the specific financing requirements of high-growth “innovative” businesses. The funding has a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, which is a part of the Investment Plan for Europe.
Capital utilisation
Ryvu Therapeutics says it will use the funds to accelerate the development of new therapies to treat severe blood cancers and solid tumours, including further clinical development of the flagship project RVU120.
Additionally, the company will invest to solve the clinical limits of existing oncology medications and give patients access to treatments for solid and haematologic tumours.
Pawel Przewiezlikowski, CEO and founder of Ryvu, says, “We are pleased to receive funding from the EIB, which plays such an instrumental role in providing financial support to innovation-driven companies like Ryvu that seek to develop new and potentially life-saving medicines. This funding will help Ryvu continue to advance our clinical-stage oncology pipeline, including RVU120 in clinical development for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumours, as well as earlier stage projects.”
Ryvu Therapeutics says as it is already one of the main employers of highly qualified researchers in the biotech field in Poland. The funds will help with R&D activities and to contribute to the creation of new highly skilled jobs, thereby encouraging economic growth in the region.
Developing novel treatments at the forefront of oncology
Founded in 2007 by Pawel Przewiezlikowski, Ryvu Therapeutics is a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company focused on novel small molecule therapies that address emerging targets in oncology.
According to the company, internally discovered pipeline candidates make use of diverse therapeutic mechanisms driven by knowledge of cancer biology, including small molecules directed at kinase, synthetic lethality and immuno-oncology targets.
RVU120, a selective CDK8/CDK19 kinase inhibitor with potential for the treatment of haematological malignancies and solid tumours, is one of Ryvu’s advanced programmes. It is currently in phase I clinical development for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, and phase I/II for the treatment of r/r metastatic or advanced solid tumours. The other is SEL24 (MEN1703), a dual PIM/FLT3 kinase inhibitor licensed to the Menarini Group, currently in phase II clinical studies in acute myeloid leukaemia.
The company has also signed ten partnering and licensing deals with global companies, including Merck, Menarini Group, Galapagos and Exelixis. Ryvu is currently listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Brief about the European Investment Bank
The EU’s long-term financing organisation is called the EIB, and its Member States own it. It provides long-term financing for sound investments in order to support EU policy objectives. Infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises are the bank’s four top priority areas for project funding.
In 2021, the EIB Group contributed €6.5B in finance to Polish projects. A portion of this funding, or about €1.5B, went to initiatives that were specifically dedicated to innovation, research, digital transformation, and human capital development.
The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the cornerstone of the Investment Plan for Europe. It offers first-loss guarantees so that the EIB Group can finance more risky projects. More than 1.4 million SMEs have benefited from investments totalling €524.3B in the projects and agreements approved for financing under the EFSI. Although the InvestEU programme has replaced the Investment Plan for Europe, several previously approved operations can still be signed.
