BiOrion Technologies receives a second VIA2016 grant for its targeted treatment program in fibrosis.

A VIA2016 grant of a EUR 50 thousand in fibrosis treatment is awarded to BiOrion Technologies BV. The grant will be used for the optimization of targeted interferon gamma in fibrosis with BiOrion’s PDGF beta receptor binding bicyclic peptide program.

Fibrosis is estimated to cause up to 45% of all deaths in the industrial world and rank amongst the top three diseases during the coming decade. Yet, there is currently no effective fibrosis medication available. BiOrion Technologies have developed a platform technology that allows specific detection of fibrotic cells by recognising a protein that is present at high density on a sick cell’s surface. This technology is the basis of our novel anti-fibrotic compound that specifically enters fibrotic cells only, leaving healthy cells unaffected. This improves treatment efficacy and decreases side effects. However, fibrosis is a chronic disease and requires long-term medication. With medicine used for a long time, there is a risk that a patient’s immune system recognises such treatment as foreign and raises an immune reaction against the drug, eventually reducing the medicine efficiency. Here, our aim is to further develop our anti-fibrosis drug by creating a novel variant that closely resemble the body’s own molecules and avoids potential recognition by the immune system. This would further improve the medication’s efficiency and safety.

VIA2016 is a program of the European Regional Development Fund from the European Commission, co-funded from the national budgets of Participating States, Partner Countries and by the European Union through Horizon 2020.

About BiOrion Technologies

BiOrion is a Dutch clinical stage biopharmaceutical drug discovery company founded in 2007, engaged in developing targeted therapeutics and companion imaging diagnostics for fibrotic diseases. These diseases include cardiac fibrosis, hepatic fibrosis, and fibrosis-associated cancers such as colorectal cancer. BiOrion’s platform and drug development engine is based on proprietary PDGF-beta-receptor binding bicyclic peptides that act as targeting vehicles for diagnostic PET radionuclides and (existing) anti-fibrotic therapeutics.