Scandion Oncology A/S has obtained DKK 5 million from Innovation Fund Denmark for the clinical development of SCO-101 in metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The grant of DKK 5 million from Innovation Fund Denmark is earmarked for the clinical phase II development of SCO-101 in metastatic pancreatic cancer.
“We are very pleased to receive this soft money grant from Innovation Fund Denmark. The DKK 5 million grant is an important confirmation of the high quality of our project in terms of Innovation Fund Denmark’s grant requirements. This grant will enable us to accelerate and optimize the clinical development of the drug candidate SCO-101 in metastatic pancreatic cancer,” says CEO Nils Brünner.
SCO-101
Scandion Oncology will in the second clinical trial enrol patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who are scheduled to receive first-line standard treatment with taxane containing chemotherapy. The plan is to randomize the patients between standard chemotherapy versus standard chemotherapy combined with SCO-101. The main goal of this study is to investigate if SCO-101 can block resistance towards taxanes and thereby delay the appearance of drug-resistant relapse.
Scandion Oncology sees this study as a stepping stone towards moving SCO-101 treatment forward to adjuvant or neo-adjuvant treatment of cancer where the aim of combining standard chemotherapy with SCO-101 is to cure the patients from their cancer disease. Since taxanes are widely used in oncology, this second study will also open the possibility to test SCO-101 in combination with taxanes in other cancer forms, e.g. breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, etc. Pancreatic cancer patients have a very poor prognosis due to the development of drug resistance, therefore SCO-101 could potentially represent a significant change for this patient group.
Innovation Fund Denmark
The Innovation Fund Denmark is a fund under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, whose purpose is to provide grants for the development of knowledge and technology, including high technology, which leads to the strengthening of research and innovative solutions for the benefit of growth and employment in Denmark.
Photo of Nils Brünner: Scandiononcology.com
