MetaLead Therapeutics AG and MT-act along with three companies in stealth mode have been enrolled in the BaseLaunch incubation program, a Basel-based biotech accelerator and incubator that helps scientists and entrepreneurs launch and grow exceptional biotech companies focused on developing cutting-edge therapeutics. Selected startups receive up to $500,000, access to the program’s partners, players in the pharma industry and investors as well as access to infrastructure including laboratories and offices.
MetaLead is a spin-out from the University of Zurich and is pioneering the field of metal-related diseases by focusing on novel therapeutic approaches for conditions with unmet medical needs, particularly Wilson disease. Founded by Michal Shoshan (CEO), with an extensive background in inorganic medicinal chemistry, metaLead leverages its expertise in metal-binding peptides and chelation. The company has developed a cutting-edge drug development platform designed to identify and optimize short novel peptidic therapies targeting metal-related pathologies. After showcasing the platform’s capabilities on lead poisoning, metaLead is currently focusing on the preclinical development of best-in-class treatments for Wilson disease, a rare genetic disorder causing the toxic accumulation of copper in the liver and brain.
On the other hand, MT-act is exploring recent advances in understanding cytoskeleton stiffness and its influence on age-related diseases. Founded as a spinoff of the Institute of Human Genetics and CNRS in Montpellier by Siem van der Laan (CEO) and Khaled Hached (COO), the company is developing a breakthrough drug discovery platform, MT-discover®, to identify small molecule drugs to treat human pathologies that share a common molecular defect; dysfunction of the microtubular network. Microtubules are the largest cytoskeletal elements and provide structural support to human cells in addition to accommodating the intracellular trafficking system employed to deliver essential cargoes. Numerous human pathologies have specifically been linked to dysregulation of microtubule properties.
Having identified the therapeutic potential of targeting microtubule-modifying enzymes that affect cytoskeleton rigidity. The company is leveraging its platform to develop first-in-class drugs that serve multiple development programs. Employing a knowledge-based view, MT-act develops drug candidates to correct microtubule dysfunctions. The company recently published the results of a collaboration with UPenn in Science Translational Medicine, demonstrating therapeutic benefits with their lead compounds in an in vivo gold-standard preclinical model of HFpEF, as well as proof-of-mechanism in human cardiomyocytes from both failing and non-failing-hearts.
(Press release/RAN)