Investment: Eisbach Bio

Amount: $4.5 million 

Drug: EIS-12656

Target: solid tumors

Prevalence: 132,000 patients annually (EU and U.S.)

The firm:  Eisbach Bio is a biotechnology company focused on precision oncology. Based in Germany, the firm creates drugs that aim to disrupt tumor growth, going after genetic vulnerabilities within cancer cells. Eisbach pioneers first-in-class therapies with fewer side effects.

How EIS-12656 works: It interrupts the DNA repair process that helps cancer cells survive.

How EIS-12656 it’s different: One, the molecule will be administered as a less expensive pill instead of an expensive immune or cell therapy. Two, EIS-12656 is not toxic, which means it can be combined with toxic medications to improve efficiency without adding to the toxicity. The key: other drugs target the enzyme PARP, but Eisbach’s molecule goes after a second enzyme on cancer cells that is triggered when PARP lights up its signals. Through this mechanism, EIS-12656’s goal is to interfere with DNA repair in solid tumors that are shown to be stubborn to conventional treatments. “It’s a cruise missile instead of a nuclear blast,” says Adrian Schomburg of Eisbach.

Trials: Phase 1/2 trial at MD Anderson, led by Dr. Timothy Yap, Professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics and Vice President and Head of Clinical Development in MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division.

Website: https://www.eisbach.bio