Spin-off from TU Dortmund University Attracts Biotech Community’s Attention
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Professor Rauh, on what scientific innovation is KyDo based and what vision is this young company pursuing?
Professor Daniel Rauh: My working group at TU Dortmund University has developed the concept of covalent-allosteric inhibition, which acts on two levels at the same time: Our small molecules, not only bind to the dysregulated target protein but also modify its structure and function. This enables us to circumvent resistance mechanisms that render ineffective many classic inhibitors used in oncology. With KyDo, we want to translate this innovation from basic research into clinical application – that is, into cancer drugs that attack more precisely, reduce side effects, and facilitate new therapeutic combinations.
How exactly did the start-up come about?
First, we further developed our concept in close collaboration with the Lead Discovery Center (LDC), the local company Taros Chemicals and the Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo). The spin-off followed in 2024, for which we – Dr. Jörn Weisner and Dr. Sven Brandherm from my working group and I – joined forces with the LDC. They both studied chemical biology at TU Dortmund University and earned their doctoral degrees there. I find it very exciting that young people we train here have the courage to venture into entrepreneurship.
We at the university support and assist them as best as we can. I myself have been working in early drug discovery in Dortmund for 20 years, and it is particularly important to me that at some point society also profits from our work. The road from basic research to an actual drug is very long, which makes me all the happier that we have taken another important step in the shape of this spin-off. Now that KyDo has also secured its first institutional capital, work can really get underway.
Which experiences from the collaboration with TU Dortmund University had a special impact on your spin-off?
Our spin-off has profited, of course, from the university’s support – through the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer as well as TU capital. Alongside prestigious international venture capital funds, the Venture Capital Seed Fund of TU Dortmund University is part of the current round of financing so that the university is now also participating in our start-up as an investor. The university and PROvendis also helped us to draft the complex license and participation agreements. This support was paramount to ensuring that the technology transfer process was watertight and legally compliant. Over the years, we have been able to gather a wealth of experience at TU Dortmund University vis-à-vis academic spin-offs and substantially optimize processes together with our partners.
Why is Dortmund such a favorable environment for KyDo?
Over the last years, Dortmund has become a strong location for drug discovery: Alongside LDC, Taros, the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and the Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), this also includes networks such as the Drug Discovery Hub Dortmund (DDHD) and the Zentrum für integrierte Wirkstoffforschung (ZIW) (“Center for Integrated Drug Discovery”). We also work closely with the West German Cancer Center at Essen University Hospital and, together with the University of Duisburg-Essen, are part of the North Rhine-Westphalian research network CANTAR, which focuses on innovative drug discovery in oncology. Another example is the nationwide TACTIC consortium, which is funded by German Cancer Aid and whose goal is to develop novel tumor therapies. Here, too, expertise from Dortmund plays a key role.
This creates a very fertile environment for KyDo, and we have already proven in the past that start-ups working on targeted cancer therapies are able to grow here – the most recent example is PearlRiver Bio GmbH, which I also co-founded and which we successfully sold in 2021.
In 2021, TU Dortmund University created another important mainstay for start-up support in the shape of its subsidiary “TU capital”. A venture capital fund provides launch finance for direct spin-offs or start-ups linked to the university. TU capital is also supported by the network and start-up programs of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University. The shared goal is to increase the number of successful start-ups in Dortmund. To support start-ups from their own region, companies and private investors can also participate in the investment fund as limited partners.
TU capital Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET)
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