The technology was generated by Prof. Dr. Matthew Groves of the RUG, and the oncologists Dr. Anthonie van der Wekken and Prof. Dr Leon van Kempen of the UMCG. It focuses on the use of 3D structural information of cancer-driving proteins combined with the computational analysis of their interaction with potential drugs. The computational analysis was developed by Dr. Joseph Melcr of Protyon.
During cancer therapy, mutations can occur in tumours, which can lead to reduced drug sensitivity and the need for a new treatment. Which new treatment that needs to be, depends on several factors, including the type of tumour and mutation. Protyon’s technology ranks approved cancer therapies to fit with mutated tumours, based on the 3D molecular information of both drugs and mutated tumour proteins. As such, the technology can be instrumental in the selection of cancer drugs that are most likely to be efficacious in patients with tumour mutations. The aim is to increase the speed and the knowledge basis of cancer drug selection and, with that, the speed and likelihood of a successful treatment switch of cancer patients.
The license agreement was generated by the knowledge transfer offices of RUG and UMCG, Business Generator Groningen and the UMCG Innovation Center, respectively, and its execution enables Protyon to exploit the 3D molecular modelling technology for the purpose described above. This license agreement was a condition for Protyon to receive the Business Generator Loan, which was, in turn, utilised to make the preparations that helped the company towards securing its first investment.
