GLIONOVA RECEIVES SEK 5 MILLION GRANT FROM SWEDISH INNOVATION AGENCY VINNOVA
Stockholm 20 november, 2014 – Glionova Therapeutics has been granted SEK 4.95 million from Swedish innovation agency Vinnova, to conduct the pre-clinical development of GLN-1001, a novel agent for the potential treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.
“We welcome the support for our efforts to develop, what we hope will become a drug for a very severe disease that currently has no good treatment. These extra resources make it possible to carry out important tests before we can enter into clinical trials,” said Eugen Steiner, CEO of Glionova. “VINNOVA’s funding is also recognition of both development strategy, as well as of our team’s ability to execute the development program. Drug development always involves high risk, and this recognition helps to attract capital from international investors for both ongoing and future development.” Eugen Steiner continues: “This form of support for early development, where the risk is high and few other options for financing are available, is important to catch the gems that exist among the early projects and I think that VINNOVA has a good model for selecting promising projects. The support, which requires significant co-financing, contributes to also creating job-opportunities both within our company and among collaborating partner organizations. ”
About Glinova AB
Glionova AB is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new therapies for cancer. The Company’s lead candidate, GLN-1001, is a first-in-class, orally available oncolytic small molecule, currently being developed as a potentially disease modifying therapy for glioblastoma by targeting specific vulnerabilities in tumor cells. Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, affecting roughly 2-7 in 100 000 individuals world-wide annually. GLN-1001 is currently in preclinical development, where it has been shown to dramatically prolong survival in patient derived xenograft animal models of glioblastoma. Glionova aims to apply for orphan drug designation in both the United States and the European Union. Visit www.glionova.com for more information.
About Vinnova
VINNOVA is Sweden’s innovation agency, working under the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications and acts as the national contact agency for the EU Framework Programme for R&D. VINNOVA was founded in January 2001. About 200 people work here and we have offices in Stockholm and Brussels. The agency promotes collaborations between companies, universities, research institutes and the public sector by stimulating a greater use of research, by making long-term investment in strong research and innovation milieus, by developing catalytic meeting places, and by strengthening international cooperation. Every year VINNOVA invests about SEK 2.7 billion in various initiatives.
For further information, please contact: Eugen Steiner, CEO of Glionova Therapeutics. Cell phone: +46 70 540 65 19. Email: eugen.steiner@glionova.com
Source: Glionova
