Theriva Biologics, a diversified clinical-stage company developing therapeutics designed to treat cancer and related diseases in areas of high unmet need, has revealed that the THERICEL project has been awarded funding of €2.28 million from the National Knowledge Transfer Program of the Spanish government’s Ministry of Science, Innovation & Universities to support a collaboration between the company and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) to advance the company’s suspension cell platform for the clinical manufacture of adenovirus- and adeno-associated virus (AAV) therapies.
Under the award, Theriva will receive a loan of €1.33 million as a lump sum payment in Q4 2024 which shall be repaid over 7 years commencing three years from the date of award and UAB will receive a grant of €0.95 million dedicated to the THERICEL project and paid in annual installments over the next 3 years.
The THERICEL project is intended to establish the viability of using Theriva’s A549 suspension cell platform for the clinical manufacture of adenoviral and AAV therapies. Suspension cell manufacture is expected to dramatically increase efficiency and decrease the cost of manufacturing compared to currently used adherent cell platforms. Theriva efforts under the award will focus on scaling-up the manufacture of VCN-01, the company’s lead oncolytic virus product candidate currently undergoing Phase 2b clinical evaluation in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). UAB researchers will evaluate the potential utility of the suspension cell line for the manufacture of AAV products for use in gene therapy.
“We are honored to receive this funding award, which provides additional capital and external validation of our therapeutic approach,” said Steven A. Shallcross, Chief Executive Officer of Theriva Biologics. “This award will accelerate the start-up for our innovative suspension cell platform, which we believe will further position Theriva at the forefront of oncolytic virus development and may provide collaborative opportunities in product manufacture. Together with our collaborators at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, we look forward to working towards our shared mission of addressing the high unmet needs of patients.”
The Ministry of Science, Innovation & Universities funding was obtained through a competitive review process under a State scientific and technical innovation plan to support public-private collaborative projects. Funding for Theriva is awarded in the form of an unsecured loan at an interest rate of 4.015%, with a fixed 3-year grace period before the first repayment is due along with accrued interest. After the grace period, the maximum repayment period is 7 years.
