Tromsø, Norway, and Dortmund, Germany – April 25th, 2024. KinSea Lead Discovery AS, a biopharmaceutical start-up pioneering the use of marine bioactives for the treatment of human diseases, announces the successful first closing of its seed financing round. It includes an equity investment from KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I GmbH & Co KG (KHAN-I), an early-stage life sciences venture fund based in Germany, and welcomes the new investor Berners AS, a North Norwegian investment company. A year ago, KinSea had already secured a convertible loan from KHAN-I, which was recently converted into shares.

The financing enables the company to further develop its lead program, a FLT3 kinase inhibitor based on unique chemistry from marine sources, towards preclinical and clinical testing. Data from in vivo proof-of-concept studies suggest superior properties over existing FLT3 inhibitors, including potential broad activity against known drug-induced and drug-resistant FLT3 mutations, improved selectivity, and outstanding in vivo potency. The program originates from the successful collaboration of the founding partners, Arctic University of Norway (UiT), University of Bergen (UiB), Norinnova, and Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC).

‘We are grateful for the continued confidence and support from KHAN-I, and delighted to welcome Berners AS on board’, says Jeanette Hammer Andersen, CEO of KinSea. ‘This first closing validates the transformative potential of our approach. We are very committed to take our FLT3 inhibitors through the next stages of drug discovery and development in order to provide entirely new treatment options for AML patients that are safer and more effective’.

KinSea also plans to gradually expand its drug discovery pipeline and establish a diversified portfolio of high-potential drug candidates based on novel chemical scaffolds from the Arctic Ocean for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

‘We are excited to reaffirm our commitment to KinSea and its groundbreaking work in the field of marine-derived therapeutics. The team has made significant progress over the last year, and we are convinced that their unique approach and capable team will continue to drive the maturation and expansion of their pipeline, and eventually make a meaningful impact on patients’ lives, in particular with regard to urgently needed, improved therapies for AML patients’, comments Bert Klebl, Managing Director of KHAN-I.

Mats Sæverud, CEO of Berners AS, adds: ‘In KinSea, we found an ambitious startup company that wants to make an important impact by employing natural products from the Arctic Ocean. The KinSea team has bold visions, scalable solutions, excellent expertise and skills, and fits well with Berners´ ambitions.’

KinSea has already started discussions with further investors for a second and final closing.

###

Contact
Lead Discovery Center GmbH
Otto-Hahn-Straße 15
44227 Dortmund
Germany
Phone: +49 231 97 42 70 00
Mail: pr@lead-discovery.de

###

About KHAN-I

KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I GmbH & Co KG (KHAN-I) is an early-stage life sciences venture fund with €70 million under management. Our mission is to create value through cooperative drug development partnerships with academic innovators in Europe. KHAN-I focuses on first-in-class therapies for attractive markets with a high unmet medical need. The fund is managed by Khanu Management GmbH, an experienced team of professionals with proven track records in early-stage drug development and academic spin-offs as well as pharma licensing and partnering. KHAN-I received an investment from the European Investment Fund (EIF) with the support of InnovFin Equity, and with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (“EFSI”) under the Investment Plan for Europe. KHANI is also supported by Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (AWS with funds provided by the Austrian

Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the Austrian Foundation for Research, Technology, and Development), Max Planck Foundation, and Thyssen’sche Handelsgesellschaft mbH. In addition, KHAN-I sustains a preferred partnership with the Max-Planck Society (Max-Planck Gesellschaft e.V.).

Further information at www.khanu.de

About Berners AS

Berners AS is a newly established, privately owned investment company, based in Tromsø, Norway. Through investments and active ownership, Berners will contribute to the development of profitable and sustainable businesses, especially within the seafood and marine sector. We aim to be a supporter of the development of brands and competence clusters in Northern Norway. Our investment strategy is based on our knowledge and love for the coast and the sea, and the opportunities that exist there. Berners is owned by Triko AS (80%) and Larren Invest AS (20%).

About Norinnova

Norinnova is one of Northern Norway’s most competent and experienced agencies for research commercialization. Norinnova connects researchers, start-up environments, companies and commercial actors to develop and utilize the region’s innovation power. For more than 30 years, Norinnova has worked closely with researchers and leading research communities in Northern Norway to harness the power of innovation in this region. This collaboration has contributed to the creation of brand-new businesses and has reinforced existing companies through new products and services. Norinnova secures rights, helps provide funding, investigates market potential, finds relevant partners, and contributes so that the scientists can get their product or service to the market.

Further information available at: www.norinnova.no

About LDC

Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need. LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads and antibodies that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals as well as candidate nomination. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from research and industry, LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule and antibody leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential.

LDC sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society and its institutes as well as with KHAN-I, and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, InvIOS, Novo Nordisk, Cumulus Oncology, Nodus Oncology, JT Pharmaceuticals, KinSea Lead Discovery AS, HLB Pharma, the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, e.g. In addition, LDC also works with leading translational drug discovery centers and with various investors to provide its assets for company creation.

Further information available at: www.lead-discovery.de

less

In Parkinson’s disease, neurons in a certain region in the brain – the substantia nigra of the midbrain – die off in large numbers. The result: The transmitter dopamine is no longer produced in sufficient amounts, which leads to neurodegenerative symptoms like amyostasia, muscular rigidity or akinesia. The causes for Parkinson’s disease are multifarious. In some cases the familial Parkinson’s diseases are triggered by mutations in the so-called LRRK2 gene. Two functions of the protein encoded by the LRRK2 gene are particularly interesting: a so-called kinase and a GTPase activity, both of which have been given particular attention in studying the cause of PD.

A team of researchers led by Hans Schöler at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine (MPI) in Münster, in cooperation with the Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) in Dortmund, will specifically search for substances that can reduce the negative effects of mutations of the LRRK2 gene. What’s special here is that while most approaches in the search for such active agents focus on kinase activity, the researchers at Max Planck will investigate GTPase.

The reasons behind this are explained by project manager Dr. Jared Sterneckert: “GTPase in the LRRK2 protein, that has been altered through mutations in the LRRK2 gene, has proven to be poisonous for neurons.” At the same time, it causes a longer activation of the mutated gene – with serious harmful consequences for the nervous tissue. “Identifying substances that inhibit the activation of GTPase will provide the first step in bringing better treatments to patients”, says Sterneckert. And another reason, according to Sterneckert, speaks for a therapeutical influence of GTPase: “The mutated GTPase also stimulates the activation of harmful kinases, for which active agents are being searched already. If we manage to find therapeutics against GTPase activation, we may simultaneously limit kinase activity.”

For the studies that have now been started, the cooperation with the active agent research organization LDC is of great importance. “We will systematically check our substance libraries for active agents that specifically hinder the activation of the GTPase”, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bert Klebl explains. This cooperation obviously increases chances of a successful outcome in the search of new active agents, Schöler and Sterneckert are sure: “In a next step, we will be able to test such molecules on cell cultures and later design therapeutics from there,” says Sterneckert.
Contacts

Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine
Dr. Jared Sterneckert
Tel: +49 (0)251 70365 199, Email: jsternec@mpi-muenster.mpg.de
Röntgenstraße 20, 48149 Münster
Lead Discovery Center
Dr. Michael Hamacher, Head of Administration
Tel: +49 (0)231 97 42-7000, Email: info@lead-discovery.de
Emil-Figge-Straße 76a, 44227 Dortmund

Background Information

About MPI
The Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine investigates the formation of cells, tissues and organs. Scientists make use of molecular-biological and cell-biological methods in a bid to discover how cells exchange information, which molecules control their behaviour and what faults in the dialogue between cells cause diseases to develop. The work of the Institute is dedicated to three closely intertwined areas. One field in which the Institute is active is stem cell research. Scientists study how stem cells can be generated and how they might be used to treat diseases. Another research area is that of inflammation processes, where one of the objectives is to fully understand the effects of blood poisoning. The third field of research is blood vessel growth, with the aim of identifying new targets for the development of therapies: blood vessels play an important role in many illnesses.
About LDC
The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) was founded by Max Planck Innovation and the Max Planck Society, to better make use of the potential of excellent basic research. The aim is to professionally transfer promising research projects into the design of new medication.

With a team of experienced scientists, drug developers and project managers, the LDC offers all the services in the field of Drug Discovery – from Target (biological target structure) to Lead (chemical lead structure) – according to the highest industry standards. Being an independent, commercially oriented company, LDC works on the interface of research and application. Focus lies on finding new active agents, especially so-called low molecular chemical substances. To this end, the LDC works closely together with research institutes, universities and the industry: It takes on promising research projects in early stages of development and, together with its partners, further develops them to get pharmaceutical active agents that already reach a “Proof-of-Concept” in animal studies and therefore meet a great demand in the industry.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
As the world’s largest private funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson’s patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding over $238 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson’s research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases Parkinson’s awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.

less

DORTMUND, Germany; and VANCOUVER, Canada – June 28, 2011:  The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) and the Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), two leading drug discovery and development centres supporting the commercialization of research from academic institutions across Canada , from select global partners, and from Germany’s Max Planck Institutes, today announced they have signed a Partnership Agreement to enable joint development of promising innovations from their broad networks. The agreement includes sharing infrastructure and expertise from LDC’s and CDRD’s powerful drug development platforms in order to support the organizations’ shared objective of successfully translating basic research into high-quality commercial opportunities  – and ultimately into new medicines that will benefit patients around the world.

Both CDRD and LDC were established in response to the recognition that it has become more and more difficult in recent years to commercialize academic health research. CDRD and LDC therefore utilize their own state-of-the-art facilities and highly-specialized business and scientific expertise as well as their broader research networks to advance innovative drug discovery projects from their affiliated research institutions to a point where they become viable investment opportunities for the private sector. In doing so, they successfully bridge the innovation and commercialization gap between academia and industry.

Karimah Es Sabar, Senior Vice President, Business & Strategic Affairs at CDRD commented, “At CDRD, we recognize that achieving our vision of transforming the culture of scientific innovation and commercialization impacting human health requires partnerships between industry and academia on a global scale. We are therefore extremely pleased to be able to expand our international alliances by establishing this formal working relationship with a world-class and highly-respected organization such as LDC. By adding LDC as an important and accomplished international partner, we are taking another step toward realizing CDRD’s mission of transforming scientific innovation into commercial opportunities globally.”

“The collaboration between LDC and CDRD will bring new expertise and tools to the already strong Max Planck network that we work with”, said Co-CEO Bert Klebl of LDC. “There are very few organizations in the world that can truly take an early basic research idea and effectively translate it into a technology that will capture the attention of industry and venture capital companies. With CDRD, we have a partner that has developed impressive expertise in drug development and a strong network of partners that we can now count on to further accelerate our own in-house relationships and expertise. We see this as an important trans-atlantic partnership that could form the foundation of a broader, global alliance of leading drug discovery and development centres.”
About CDRD
The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) (www.cdrd.ca), a not-for-profit public-private organization based in Vancouver, Canada, provides drug development expertise and infrastructure to enable researchers from leading academic and health research institutions to advance promising, early-stage drug candidates.  The Government of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence program has recognized CDRD as a Centre of Excellence in Commercialization in Research (CECR). CDRD currently has an existing portfolio of close to 80 supported projects generated from its network of 20+ affiliated research institutions. These institutions represent billions invested in health-related research every year, and CDRD plays a pivotal role in translating that research into commercial products and economic returns including new jobs for British Columbia and Canada.  For more information please visit www.cdrd.ca

About LDC
The Lead Discovery Center (LDC), a limited liability company based in Dortmund, Germany, was jointly developed by Max Planck Innovation and the Max Planck Society as a novel approach to advance findings from excellent basic research into the development of medicines.

With a world-class team of drug discovery experts and seasoned managers, the LDC offers the full scope of drug discovery services – from target to lead – according to the highest industry standards. As an independent enterprise with an entrepreneurial outlook, it is positioned as a translational drug discovery center specialized in small molecule drug discovery. LDC collaborates with research institutions and universities as well as with industry. The aim is to transform promising and early-stage projects into pharmaceutical leads that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals and that meet the increasing need for novel therapeutic agents.
www.lead-discovery.de
###
For additional information, please contact:

Barry Gee
Director, Communications
Centre for Drug Research and Development
(604) 221-7750 x 223
bgee@cdrd.ca

Thomas Hegendoerfer
Head of Business Development
Lead Discovery Center
+49 (0)231 97 42-7000
info@lead-discovery.de

less

Dortmund, April 18, 2011 — The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), based in Dortmund, Germany, a spin-off from Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH (MI) in Munich, with expertise in small molecule pharmaceutical drug discovery, has successfully licensed its first lead structure to a pharma partner. The agreement grants Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany (Bayer Health-Care Pharmaceuticals) a world-wide and exclusive license to intellectual property rights and know-how. Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals will work on the lead structure with the goal to advance a product into clinical development and a marketed product in the field of oncology.

The licensed lead structure belongs to a series of novel and highly selective kinase inhibitor compounds that have been developed by LDC in a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Max-Planck-Foundation. This project emerged from a collaboration of LDC with research groups from the Westfälische Wilhelms-University of Münster (Prof. Dr. Michael Meisterernst) and the Max-Planck-Institute for Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg (Dr. Gerhard Mittler).

Kinases are key components of biochemical signalling pathways that control cellular growth, metabolism and differentiation. They have therefore become prime targets of drug discovery and development for the treatment of many diseases, especially in oncology. „Our lead structure is a highly selective and potent inhibitor of a certain kinase that is known to play a crucial role in multiple indications. The in vivo efficacy proven in several animal models emphasizes the quality of the lead structure and its potential for further development into novel therapy options” says Dr. Peter Nussbaumer, one of the two managing directors at the LDC. „The partnership between LDC and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals provides a perfect match to advance our findings into therapeutic application”, adds the other managing director, Dr. Bert Klebl.

LDC will receive a significant upfront payment and milestone payments under the terms of the agreement. Milestone payments to LDC may aggregate to 82.5 million Euros in development milestones and 55 million Euros in sales milestones. In addition, LDC is eligible to receive royalty payments on net sales of products once marketed.

„We are highly pleased that Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the largest German pharmaceutical company with a focus on innovative cancer therapies, will develop the licensed lead structure further to bring it to the patients. This agreement demonstrates that the LDC is capable to deliver the aimed high quality standards and that LDC’s lead structures are attractive licensing assets for pharma.” states Dr. Dieter Link, licensing manager at Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH. „As a translational drug discovery entity, it is LDC’s ultimate mission, to fill the gap between excellent basic academic research and industrial application to provide novel therapeutic drugs. This first licensing deal is an important milestone reached by the LDC and its dedicated staff. It clearly confirms LDC’s business model.”

less

Lead Discovery Center and Merck KGaA Enter Collaboration for the Discovery of Anti-Cancer Compounds

Research collaboration may realize the potential of kinase inhibitors as a means for cancer treatments in the future

January 20, 2011, Dortmund, Germany — The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), a small molecule drug discovery spin-off of Max Planck Innovation GmbH, announced today that it has signed a cooperation agreement with Merck KGaA for the discovery of kinase inhibitors as potential cancer treatments.

The collaboration is supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the BioPharma initiative to strengthen the pharmaceutical value chain in Germany.

Using an innovative kinase technology platform originating from the Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society (CGC, Dortmund), Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, and the LDC aim to identify inhibitory compounds against at least one undisclosed kinase target and advance them through the drug discovery process up to pharmaceutical lead compounds.

Kinases are key components of biochemical signalling pathways that control cellular growth, metabolism and differentiation. They have therefore become prime targets for drug discovery and development in many diseases, especially in oncology. “Our proprietary technology allows for the identification of innovative allosteric kinase inhibitors that hold strong potential for improved potency and selectivity,” says Prof. Dr. Daniel Rauh, group leader at the CGC. “We are excited about the alliance between the LDC and Merck Serono as it provides us with the unique chance to translate our approach into application.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the LDC and Merck Serono will work closely together, with each partner contributing its particular expertise and infrastructure as well as their own resources in the fields of assay development, screening, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology.

“We are delighted about this agreement with the LDC and believe that this collaboration has a great potential to provide the basis for the development of further treatment options in oncology,” said Dr. Bernhard Kirschbaum, Executive Vice President, Research and Development, at Merck Serono.

“Merck Serono is a recognized leader in drug discovery and development and we are extremely pleased to team up with them,” Dr. Bert Klebl, Managing Director of the LDC, adds. “The alliance is a major milestone for the LDC and could well become a role model for highly efficient and professional collaboration between academia and industry. It verifies LDC’s positioning as a translational research center with the aim of leveraging excellent academic research for industrial application and the development of medicines.”

###
Contacts

Contact for the Lead Discovery Center
Thomas Hegendörfer, Head of Business Development
Tel: +49 231 97 42-7000, Email: info@lead-discovery.de
Emil-Figge-Straße 76a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
Contact for the Chemical Genomics Center
Prof. Dr. Daniel Rauh
Tel: +49 231 9742 6480, Email: daniel.rauh@cgc.mpg.de
Otto-Hahn-Str. 15, 44227 Dortmund, Germany

###

Notes to editors

About the LDC
The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC, www.lead-discovery.de) was jointly developed by Max Planck Innovation and the Max Planck Society as a novel approach to advance findings from excellent basic research into the development of medicines.

With a world-class team of drug discovery experts and seasoned managers, the LDC offers the full scope of drug discovery services – from target to lead – according to the highest industry standards. As an independent enterprise with an entrepreneurial outlook, it is positioned as a translational research center specialized in small molecule drug discovery. LDC collaborates with research institutions and universities as well as with industry. The aim is to transform promising and early-stage projects into pharmaceutical leads that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals and that meet the increasing need for novel therapeutic agents.

The LDC forms the core of Max Planck Innovation’s Drug Discovery & Development Center (DDC) that won the “BioPharma strategy competition for medicine of the future”, a support program of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

About the CGC
The Chemical Genomics Centre is an initiative of the Max Planck Society in cooperation with four companies. It stands for high quality research and strong collaborations between industry and Max Planck research. Key to the research strategy of the CGC is that chemical and biological expertise are being combined and interconnected. Within the CGC small molecules are developed as modulating ligands for proteins enabling cell biological studies of biological systems and the understanding of the function of gene products.

About the BioPharma Initiative
The nationwide “BioPharma strategy competition for medicine of the future” is the key element of The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung – BMBF) “Pharmaceuticals Initiative for Germany”. The “BioPharma” strategy competition aims to promote innovative partnerships between academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in order to strengthen the pharmaceutical value chain in Germany.

less