SAN DIEGO, March 27, 2018 – i2020 Accelerator announced today that Stelvio Therapeutics has joined its early drug discovery ecosystem. i2020 aims to accelerate research programs with differentiated biology and established development paradigms towards advanced leads and clinical candidates. The i2020 Accelerator deploys a world-wide network of well-established R&D resources, financial and BD&L capabilities to help Stelvio Therapeutics advance its proprietary epigenetic platform for glioblastoma therapies.
i2020 received a startup funding commitment of $30 million from the specialty life science investor, Torrey Pines Investment. “With the risk of taking on projects at early development stages being very significant, i2020 has to be reasonably selective with the programs it supports,” comments Nikolay Savchuk, Managing Director at Torrey Pines. “Stelvio Therapeutics’ AI-driven epigenetic signature-based platform, which identifies compounds that trigger differentiation of cancer stem cells into benign cell types, matches i2020’s target profile well. It is a first-in-class project with strong clinical hypothesis, a well-defined product profile and clear development milestones.”
“i2020 aligns well with our overall goals, since it provides a robust network of relevant R&D, business strategy and scientific resources, together with an agile business model and flexible partnering options,” comments Attila Hajdu, CEO at Stelvio Therapeutics. “This exciting partnership is a tremendous step towards our shared mission of delivering innovative medicines of value to the patients that need them. With our combined technology and resources, the traditional approaches of chemo and radiotherapy would be toppled and we could see a cure for glioblastoma within our lifetime.”
About i2020
By rapidly de-risking novel science and enriching partner pipelines with best-in-class molecules, i2020 helps accelerate early stage drug discovery platforms towards advanced lead and clinical candidate level within a two-year framework. i2020's vast scientific and global resource network tailored specifically to the needs of early drug development programs allows it to take on projects in a wide array of therapeutic areas, from immunology to infectious diseases and beyond. By successfully leveraging agile development principles and flexible partnering business models, i2020 plans to co-create 15 diverse drug discovery programs in 2018.
[www.i2020accelerator.com]
About Stelvio Therapeutics
Stelvio Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that focuses on developing a pipeline of alternative treatments for malignant glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and lethal brain tumor. Instead of trying to kill tumor cells, Stelvio Therapeutics is developing treatments that will induce differentiation of tumor propagating cells into non-tumorigenic cells - a potent new strategy to fight GBM that could ultimately lead to more viable alternatives for patients.
[www.stelvio-oncology.com]