The first targeted
clot busting therapy
News
APPOINTED – Erik van den Berg as Chair of Board
January 2023 - TargED is pleased to announce the appointment of Erik van den Berg as Chair of its Supervisory Board. Click read more to find our full press release.
APPOINTED - Scientific Advisory Board AIS
September 2022 - TargED is proud to present the installment of a Scientific Advisory Board dedicated to the development of Microlyse for treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke.
PUBLICATION -
Microlyse for AIS in Blood journal
August 2022 - TargED is very proud to share that another article that confirms the thrombolytic potential of Microlyse has been published in Blood journal. Click read more to find our full press release.
APPOINTED -
Emile van Corven as VP CMC
July 2022 - TargED is very pleased to announce the appointment of Emile van Corven as their Vice President Chemistry Manufacturing & Control (VP CMC). e.”
FUNDING - TargED raises €39 million in Series A round
February 2022 - TargED is extremely pleased and proud to have raised €39 million in a Series A investment round! Together with an international investor syndicate we’ll pursue our common goal: to bring Microlyse into clinical development!
About us
Team
Kristof Vercruysse, CEO
Marc van Moorsel, COO
Steven de Maat, CSO
Coen Maas, Scientific Advisor
Kristof Vercruysse has over 15 years of experience in bringing biopharmaceutical compounds from preclinical proof of concept towards market authorization. Kristof gained hands-on experience with the development of Caplacizumab for treatment of TTP at Ablynx between 2007 and 2013. Subsequently, he joined Sourcia, a full-service boutique CRO that delivers tailor-made clinical drug development for biotech companies. Kristof holds a Masters in Biomedical Science from Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Marc van Moorsel holds a Masters in Innovation Sciences from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is currently finishing his PhD at University Medical Centre Utrecht, investigating blood vessel markers towards innovative diagnostics and therapeutics in cardiovascular disease. Marc aims to combine his scientific understanding of drug development gained during his PhD with his passion: establishing a biopharmaceutical start-up.
Coen Maas is an expert in thrombosis and hemostasis and associate professor at University Medical Centre Utrecht. Coen studies multiple rare, hematological diseases. Coen is (co)author of >100 scientific publications and has been invited for >45 scientific presentations. In addition, he is inventor of two patents, one of which that covers our lead compound. Coen holds a Masters in Medical Biology and received his PhD in 2008, both at University Medical Centre Utrecht.
Emile van Corven, VP Chemistry Manufacturing & Control
Danielle Versluis, Research Analyst
Eva Zethof, Management Assistant
Sarah Mc Fie-Schwartz, Scientific/Medical writer
Emile van Corven holds a Masters Degree in Biology/Biochemistry and obtained his PhD in 1987. He decided to enter the biopharmaceutical industry in 1992 and has fulfilled several positions with increasing responsibility, up to Chief Development Officer/Managing Director. With more than 30 years of Biotech experience, he finally decided to start as an independent consultant in April 2022 and he has joined TargED as Vice President Chemistry Manufacturing & Control.
Danielle Versluis holds a Bachelors Degree in Biomedical Sciences and currently finishes her Masters in Biology of Diseases, both at Utrecht University (the Netherlands). Earlier, she performed two internships (1 year each). The former focussed on pyruvate kinase deficiency, the latter on regenerative orthopaedics. Her scientific interests lays with Cardiovascular disorders.
Eva Zethof holds a dual Associate degree from Schoevers (the Netherlands) in Office Management and Medical Secretary. Eva has >5 years of experience as Management Assistant in the pharmaceutical industry. Previously she worked for Guerbet (Gorinchem, the Netherlands), where she assisted various members of the Management Team and the Sales Team. In addition, she implemented a new CRM system and was responsible for company compliance and sponsorships (CGR).
Sarah Mc Fie holds degrees in Molecular Biology, Neuroscience and Neuropsychology and obtained her PhD from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Her PhD investigated the genetic risk factors for head injury outcome. In addition, she completed a one-year Clinical Neuropsychology internship in the Neurology Ward of the Groote Schuur Hospital and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Neurosurgery department of the University of Cape Town. Her passion lies in medical science and scientific communication.
Volker Laux, Translational Scientist
Xander Speet, CMC Project Leader
Marèl de Wit, Director Regulatory Affairs
Katja Wosikowski, VP Nonclinical Development
Volker Laux is an expert in thrombosis and hemostatis, who has been working as a Pharmacologist for >25 years. Until 2019, he was Vice President for Hemostatic & Acute Care Diseases at Bayer Pharma in Wuppertal and San Francisco, and from 2020-2021 Division Head of Preclinical Research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine & Pharmacology in Frankfurt. He has been responsible for the translation of several discovery projects into development in thrombosis, hemophilia, ischemic stroke and Intensive care research.
Xander Speet holds a Bachelor Degree in Organic Chemistry from Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden, the Netherlands with a minor in Drug Design & Synthesis. He has been working in the biopharmaceutical industry since 2010 with previous roles as Project Manager Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls (CMC) and Associate Director of Drug Product Manufacturing, Clinical Supplies & Logistics. Xander has proven to be a talented Project Manager with a great eye for detail.
Marèl de Wit holds a Masters Degree in Medical Biology and obtained her PhD focussing on Infectious Diseases and Immunology from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Marèl is a quality oriented Regulatory professional with >15 years of experience in the Biological field. She has previously fulfilled several Regulatory Affairs positions, both in pre- and post-marketing, with increasing responsibility and now fulfills the position of Director Regulatory Affairs at TargED.
Katja Wosikowski is a nonclinical research and development expert and licensed pharmacist. During her >20 years of experience in drug discovery and development, she has worked for several biopharmaceutical companies, bringing nonclinical development projects of innovative compounds into the clinic. Katja holds a Masters Degree in Pharmacy from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and obtained her PhD focussing on the role of the growth factor signaling pathway in breast cancer from the Universität Basel, Switzerland.
Johan Renes, IP Lead
Johan Renes is a Partner at Simmons & Simmons in Amsterdam since May 2021, and is TargED’s go-to partner when it comes to Intellectual Property practices. He has >30 years of experience in the Life Sciences industry and has been involved in international patent litigation. As a former life science entrepeneur, Johan is also experienced in the commercial and strategic aspects of drug development. He has guided companies from inception to IPO and beyond, negotiating licensing and collaboration deals, securing investments and implementing aligned R&D, business and IP strategies.
Supervisory Board
Thijs Cohen Tervaert (Chair)
Inkef Capital
Jan van den Bossche
Andera Partners
Mariette van der Velden-Roesink
Curie Capital
Caroline Goddeeris
Roger Franklin
Hadean Ventures
Jacob Lange Moresco
Sunstone Life Science Ventures
Scientific Advisory Board Acute Ischemic Stroke
Prof. Johannes Boltze
Prof. Alastair Buchan
Prof. Werner Hacke
Prof. Jeffrey Saver
Prof. Bart van der Worp
Technology
Our lead product, Microlyse, is a first-in-class proprietary clot-busting compound which binds to a protein present in all forms of thrombosis. Microlyse is the first compound to achieve targeted enzyme delivery, using a single domain antibody (VhH), directly to blood clots. Due to the targeted nature of the therapy, it is expected to lead to a superior side effect profile alongside the potential for exceptional potency compared to current agents. Microlyse’s unique mechanism of action allows for potential applications in a variety of indications involving thrombosis, including the life-threatening disease aTTP. The ground-breaking work demonstrating that Microlyse specifically targets blood clots leading to their desolution faster and safer compared to standard of care recently featured on the cover of the journal Blood (Microlyse: a thrombolytic agent that targets VWF for clearance of microvascular thrombosis).
Therapeutic areas
The human body controls rupturing of vessels by beneficial wound healing. Wound healing is initiated by the binding of platelets to unrolled Von Willebrand Factor (VWF), a multimeric blood protein. The developing molecular ‘band-aid’ can later be strengthened by the formation of fibrin. When this process is uncontrolled, obstructive blood clots can develop, known as ‘thrombosis’. These clots prevent sufficient blood supply to organs. Dependent on the affected organ, this can result in for example stroke, myocardial infarction or kidney failure. Interestingly, thrombi always contain platelets and VWF, but they do not always contain fibrin. We are currently developing Microlyse for the thrombotic indications TTP and acute ischemic stroke.
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)
TTP has an orphan EMA/FDA designation and it affects 2-10 patients per million per year. In physiology, the enzyme ADAMTS13 cleaves VWF and prevents progressing into pathological thrombosis. In TTP patients, ADAMTS13 activity is impaired. Consequently, TTP patients experience acute attacks during which they develop countless thrombi composed of ultra large VWF molecules (UL-VWF) and platelets. These thrombi generally affect the microvasculature of organs such as the kidneys, heart and brain, leading to tissue ischemia and multi-organ failure. TTP patients risk shortened life expectancy and long-term complications. When untreated, mortality is 90%.
Microlyse is revolutionary in inducing the active degradation of VWF strands. As a result, the duration of tissue ischemia can be reduced, resulting in less organ failure and lower mortality.
Acute ischemic stroke (AIS)
AIS is the largest thrombotic indication worldwide, affecting 17 million people per year. Since the late 90s, AIS patients are treated with recombinant tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) to recanalize the occluded blood vessel. tPA becomes less effective when administered later after symptom onset. Consequently, administration >4.5 hours after onset is avoided as efficacy is outweighed by the unavoidable bleeding risk that comes with tPA therapy.
The reasons for the limited efficacy of tPA are still largely unclear. However, tPA requires the availability of fibrin in order to degrade thrombi. In AIS, thrombi often originate from vessel damage elsewhere, after which thrombi-parts dislodge, embolize and occlude arteries in the brain. These thrombi always contain VWF, but the presence of fibrin is uncertain and varies between cases. We and others therefore suggest that degrading VWF in addition to fibrin forms an attractive strategy to treat thrombosis in stroke.
Investors
