EndoVia Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in Maribor and a spin-out of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Maribor, was successful in the EIC Pre-Accelerator pilot call.
In a highly competitive selection process, the European Innovation Council (EIC) supported PRECISION-ECS, a project to develop a platform for predicting how individual tumors respond to cannabinoid treatment. Among thousands of applications, its idea impressed the evaluators and thus secured funding for further development.
The two-year project is worth EUR 491,500 and will be 70% co-financed with non-repayable European funds. At the same time, the company also secured investment support from the regional venture capital fund Vesna VC.
The team will combine living tumor models derived from patient samples, molecular analyses and advanced computational modeling. The goal is to develop a digital twin of the tumor that would enable simulation of the response to individual cannabinoid compounds and their combinations. Development begins with malignant melanoma, while the platform is designed for later expansion to other types of cancer. The company was founded by researchers of the Faculty of Medicine, UM, Assist. Prof. Dr. Jan Rožanc, Prof. Dr. Uroš Maver and Assist. Prof. Dr. Marko Milojević.