Zelluna, the Oslo biotech listed as ZLNA, has been awarded NOK 16 million by the Research Council of Norway. The company announced the grant in Oslo on June 29.
The money goes to Zelluna’s ongoing Phase 1 clinical study, called ZIMA-101. It comes through the Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector, a scheme the Research Council runs to back research-driven innovation in Norwegian industry. The award still depends on final contract negotiations with the council.
“We are delighted to receive this support from the Research Council of Norway,” said Namir Hassan, the company’s CEO. He described it as “strong external recognition of the innovation underpinning our TCR-NK platform and its potential to address significant unmet needs for patients with solid cancers.”
What Zelluna is building
The company works on allogeneic “off-the-shelf” cell therapies. In plain terms, these are made from donor cells in advance, so they are not built from scratch for each patient. Zelluna’s version pairs natural killer cells with T cell receptors, or TCRs. The idea is to combine the killing power of NK cells with the precise targeting of solid tumors that TCRs offer. Zelluna says this is aimed at the shortcomings of current cell therapies in solid tumors.
Its lead candidate, ZI-MA4-1, targets MAGE-A4. The company calls it the world’s first MAGE-A4 targeting TCR-NK therapy in clinical development.
Zelluna is headquartered at the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park.
The grant does not report any trial results. Patients with cancer should consult their doctor for medical advice.
Sources
- Zelluna ASA awarded NOK 16 million Research Council of Norway grant
- Zelluna ASA awarded NOK 16 million Research Council of Norway grant – Zelluna
