Three young biotech start-ups are reporting progress in their clinical trials, according to a round-up published on 14 October by Startupticker.ch: Muvon Therapeutics in stress urinary incontinence, Neurosterix in schizophrenia and Nuclidium in prostate cancer. These candidates are not at the same stage of development, and their progress should be read for what it is: milestones in ongoing trials, not treatments made available to patients.

Muvon Therapeutics: interim results at 12 months

Stress urinary incontinence affects more than 150 million women worldwide, Startupticker.ch points out, and no approved therapy currently addresses its underlying cause. Muvon Therapeutics is developing a tissue-engineered therapy, called MPCCOL, based on muscle precursor cells. The company has announced positive interim results from the 12-month long-term follow-up study of its SUISSE-MPC2 phase 2 trial (registered under the reference NCT05534269). According to this announcement, the study showed lasting and clinically relevant benefits for the bladder health of the treated patients.

The method is worth dwelling on. A small biopsy of the calf muscle is taken under local anaesthesia. The patient’s own muscle precursor cells (known as autologous cells) are isolated from it, multiplied and then prepared to form the final product. This is injected through the urethra into the external urethral sphincter muscle, using a proprietary ultrasound-guided injection device. The aim is to regenerate the muscle and restore continence function.

What has been established at this stage: interim phase 2 results, communicated by the company. Regenerating the muscle remains the therapy’s goal, not an achievement to be generalised.

Neurosterix: phase 1 completed, phase 2 planned

Neurosterix, a company spun out of Addex Therapeutics, which holds 20% of its capital, has completed a multi-part phase 1 clinical study of NTX-253. This molecule is a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the M4 muscarinic receptor, developed for the treatment of schizophrenia. The studies included healthy volunteers as well as patients with stabilised schizophrenia. They provided important safety and pharmacokinetic data, in other words on what happens to the molecule in the body.

On this basis, Neurosterix plans to move NTX-253 into phase 2. This is an intention, not a trial that has been launched. And the data communicated concern safety and pharmacokinetics, not efficacy against the disease.

Nuclidium: a first patient in phase 2

Nuclidium has imaged the first patient in a phase 2 trial evaluating the diagnostic accuracy and safety of its radiotracer 61Cu-NU101 in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. This product is an imaging agent for positron emission tomography (PET). It combines copper-61 of high radiochemical purity with a targeting peptide, which binds specifically to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), an established biomarker of this cancer.

According to Startupticker.ch, 61Cu-NU101 can be produced in 5 minutes at room temperature, which allows on-demand preparation and integration into existing hospital infrastructure. It is the diagnostic component of Nuclidium’s NU101 theranostic programme, paired with 67Cu-NU101, its therapeutic counterpart. One clarification is needed: the trial that is starting concerns the diagnostic tool, not the treatment.

Nuclidium has also been selected for the “Fierce 15”, a selection that recognises companies with the ambition of rethinking drug discovery or taking a different approach to the supply of isotopes for radiopharmaceuticals.

Elsewhere in the sector

ReproNovo, founded by Jean Marie Duvall and active in fertility, is also among the “Fierce 15”. Its two candidates, RPN-001 (leflutrozole), studied as a potential treatment for male infertility associated with low testosterone levels, and RPN-002 (nolasiban), which aims to improve the chances of embryo implantation during in vitro fertilisation, are in phase 2 studies.

iOnctura, for its part, has published two complementary studies in the journal Nature Communications on roginolisib, a next-generation, conformation-selective PI3Kδ inhibitor. The first describes how the molecule locks PI3Kδ, an enzyme involved in the development of cancers, in an inactive state, which sets it apart from other PI3Kδ inhibitors. The second presents the results of the first-in-human study: a favourable tolerability profile and clinical observations deemed encouraging in patients with cancer, including metastatic uveal melanoma. According to the company, these results support the further development of roginolisib.

Basel: laboratories for start-ups

On the infrastructure side, Switzerland Innovation Park Basel (SIP Basel) will launch the ALLabs on its Main Campus in January 2027, a laboratory offering designed specifically for start-ups and small biotech and life sciences companies. These private, fully equipped laboratories, measuring 25 to 40 square metres, allow young companies to have their own laboratory without major upfront investment in infrastructure. Offices or coworking spaces can also be rented.

SIP Basel thus intends to keep barriers to entry as low as possible. The offering is open to spin-offs and start-ups linked to the Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering (BIIE), as well as to other biotech and life sciences companies that meet the conditions.

Sources

  • Startupticker.ch: “From positive clinical developments to support offers for biotech startups”