COVID-19: Start-up Eisbach Bio at the IZB receives EUR 8 million government grant

Antiviral enters Phase I/II of clinical development

Martinsried near Munich, Germany, July 8, 2021 – Eisbach Bio, a biotechnology company targeting the molecular machines that drive human disease, today announced additional financial support from the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) for the clinical development of its first-in-class SARS-CoV-2 helicase inhibitor. The total funding of EUR 8 million will support the clinical development of the Company’s novel COVID-19 therapeutic following the recent completion of its preclinical development.

Eisbach is using its allosteric inhibitor platform to develop selective drugs for the inhibition of complex molecular machines involved in serious diseases. In cancer, it has identified synthetic-lethal and oncogenic helicases as targets and developed small-molecule inhibitors targeting specific chromatin remodeling enzymes. Using its helicase expertise, the Company also developed an inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 helicase Nsp13, an RNA helicase critical for viral replication and the most conserved non-structural protein within the coronavirus family.

Eisbach’s CEO, Dr. Adrian Schomburg, commented: “We are very thankful to receive BMBF support for the clinical validation of our drug candidate, which allows for convenient oral administration. As the tablets can be easily manufactured and shipped, our drug candidate not only offers broad potential to alleviate disease symptoms, but also to globally reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.”

Prof. Andreas Ladurner, Eisbach’s CSO, added: “Our drug blocks viral replication through a novel, targeted mechanism that is fully conserved across all known virus variants. We are determined to deliver a sustainable drug with a good safety profile that should allow treatment of anyone testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, especially high-risk patients.”

The antiviral adds to the Company’s original oncology pipeline, consisting of first-in-kind inhibitors for synthetic-le thal cancer targets. Eisbach is rapidly progressing its IND-enabling work and expects to initiate Phase I clinical trials for its COVID-19 asset in Q1, 2022.

“We are very proud of our start-up Eisbach Bio and congratulate the team around Dr. Adrian Schomburg and Prof. Andreas Ladurner very warmly on the government frant´s of eight million euros from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The top researchers in Bavarian`s Silicon Valley are helping to meet the global demand for a highly effective COVID-19 drug,” said Dr. Peter Hanns Zobel, Managing Director of Innovation- and Start-ups Center Biotechnology (IZB).

About Eisbach Bio GmbH
Eisbach develops novel drugs that disrupt molecular machines essential to tumors with defined genetic vulnerabilities in the context of DNA damage and repair (DDR). Its proprietary platform creates targeted therapies that exploit disease-relevant vulnerabilities. By shutting off the machine’s engine using allosteric inhibitors, Eisbach’s medicines are designed to prevent the reorganization and evolution of cancer genomes. Founded in 2019, Eisbach is privately held and backed by international investors. For more information, please visit www.eisbach.bio.

More information:
Eisbach Bio GmbH
Email: oib.hcabsie@ofni
http://www.eisbach.bio

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About Innovation and Start-up Center for Biotechnology (IZB) in Martinsried near Munich
The Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH, founded in 1995, is the operating company of the Innovation and Start-up Centers for Biotechnology in Planegg-Martinsried and Freising-Weihenstephan, and has developed into a leading biotechnology center. More than 50 biotech companies with over 700 employees are currently located on 26,000 m2 of land. Here, work focuses on the development of drugs against the most serious diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and various autoimmune diseases. A key criterion for the success of the IZBs is their close proximity to top-level research at both the Martinsried/Grosshadern campus and the Weihenstephan campus. The new infrastructure measures such as the Faculty Club G2B (Gateway to Biotech), the IZB Residence CAMPUS AT HOME, the Elhardt Chemistry College, the two kindergartens Bio Kids and Bio Kids2, as well as the two restaurants SEVEN AND MORE and Café Freshmaker are also location factors that are highly appreciated by the company founders. Successful companies that have emerged from the IZB include Medigene AG, MorphoSys AG, Micromet GmbH (today Amgen AG), Octopharma GmbH, Corimmun (today Janssen-Cilag), Rigontec GmbH (today MSD), ibidi GmbH, Coriolis GmbH and Immunic Therapeutics. More information at www.izb-online.de

Press contact and image requests:
Susanne Simon, Head of Public Relations
Fördergesellschaft IZB mbH, Am Klopferspitz 19, D-82152 Planegg Martinsried
Phone: +49 (0)89/55 279 48-17,
E-mail: ed.enilno-bzi@nomis: Website: www.izb-online.de