Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator takes first-ever equity stakes in two oncology startups
What's the deal? Oslo Cancer Cluster IncubatorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has become a shareholder in OncosyneDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Immunoquest, two Norwegian startups developing more precise cancer treatments. It marks the first time the incubator has invested directly in its in-house companies.
What do they do? Oncosyne has built a functional diagnostics platform that tests how cancer cells react to different treatments and combinations. Immunoquest TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is a pre-clinical biopharmaceutical company working in precision oncology, which moved into the incubator earlier this year.
Where the money goes: For Oncosyne, the funding will carry it through to the first results of the DSEE-CRC study next year. Run with Akershus University HospitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the study assesses the company's first diagnostic test, aiming to give patients with metastatic colorectal cancer more effective drug treatment.
Why now? "Access to capital is particularly challenging for early-stage oncology companies today," the incubator said. Its board decided direct capital could help its companies bridge the gap between early validation and larger institutional rounds.
Why it matters: "Our investment may be modest in size, but it can have a triggering effect by helping to attract other investors or release public funding," said Jónas Einarsson, chairman of the board. Companies in the incubator already get access to laboratories, business development support, and a cancer research network.
What's the endgame? Oncosyne co-founder and chief technology officer Peter W. Eide said the company plans to build "from 'incubation' towards international scale-up in the years ahead." Immunoquest founder Esmaeil Dorraji called the backing "a powerful vote of confidence from an established oncology innovation ecosystem."
The signal: The wider oncology market is still drawing capital, from Solstice OncologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s $225 million Series A to Cloverleaf Bio's $33 million seed. But sums swing sharply with clinical stage, leaving the earliest companies in what Dorraji called the "valley of death" — the gap this incubator is now stepping in to fill.
Read more: oslocancercluster.no
Image credit: ONCOSYNE AS
