Promitil® - a new ‘smart’ nanomedicine for cancer chemo-radiotherapy.

Project Information

Promitil

Grant agreement ID: 876666

DOI

10.3030/876666

Project closed

EC signature date 9 July 2019

Start date 1 July 2019

End date 30 November 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

LIPOMEDIX PHARMACEUTICALS LTD
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Promitil (Promitil® - a new ‘smart’ nanomedicine for cancer chemo-radiotherapy.)

Reporting period: 2019-07-01 to 2019-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

There were over 18M new cases of cancer worldwide in 2018, out of which about 3.7M were in Europe. To treat cancer, radiotherapy is increasingly used in combination with chemotherapy. The key to enabling the full potential of chemo-radiotherapy depends on radio-sensitization, which means the degree of effectiveness of the anticancer agents used for chemotherapy that make tumour cell more sensitive to radiation therapy. However, radio-sensitizers, like Mitomycin-C (MMC), administrated in combination with radiation, still need to be significantly improved to achieve a more effective and safe treatment of patients.

LipoMedix has developed a novel nanomedicine (Promitil®) for chemo-radiotherapy. It is a liposome formulation of a Mitomycin-C Lipid-based (MLP) prodrug of the anticancer agent MMC. Promitil® enables efficient delivery of MLP with rapid activation in tumour tissue, yet with improved safety profile because it becomes active only upon radiation. This results in a higher and safer radio-sensitization effect of radiation treatment and increased cure possibilities for patients.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the feasibility assessment, LipoMedix completed a full analysis of the technical and business potential of Promitil®. Throughout the project, the company greatly expanded their knowledge regarding the clinical development pathway, regulatory approval and business strategy to successfully reach the European market.
From a technical point of view, LipoMedix checked and confirmed its minimum viable product and produced a work plan, detailing the main steps to make Promitil® ready for the market stage. From a business point of view, it reviewed in detail its business model and go-to-market strategy to define the approach for accelerated and effective market uptake. The company also performed a market analysis and reviewed its competitor landscape, confirming that Promitil® has a significant potential to disrupt the market.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and the number of cancer patients is expected to raise significantly, reaching almost 30 million new cancer cases in 2040. The demand for radiotherapy is also expected to grow by 16% by 2025. Healthcare providers thus need improvements in delivery of radiotherapy to allow treatment times to be reduced and with better health outcomes. The finalisation of the Promitil® innovation project will allow to market an efficient and side-effect free liposome prodrug, to be used as radio-sensitiser in chemo-radiotherapy treatments. This will contribute to improve patients’ quality of life, healthcare outcomes and reduce the economic healthcare stress of chemo-radiotherapy.

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