Innovations for a better world
Effective tumour therapy:
introducing BiconY
Joining forces to fight cancer, because people’s health is close to our hearts.
Our goal: pioneering achievements in tumour therapy
We grab cancer by the collar! BiconY Therapeutics GmbH is a subsidiary of the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation – SPRIND GmbH. Our research focuses on the combination of bispecific CD3 antibodies (bsAbCD3) and CD28 costimulators, also known as BiCos.
We aspire to develop cancer treatments that activate the body’s own immune system in a tumour-specific way through an innovative form of T cell recruitment. BiconY concentrates its cancer research on preclinical and clinical research and development of pharmaceutical substances to treat oncological diseases, primarily solid tumours. The key indications include prostate cancer and malignant gastrointestinal diseases.
Another important part of our work is the transfer of knowledge to optimise the use of research findings. We believe that cancer research in itself is not a field for solitary researchers: we need to work together if we want to change the world!
Our team
Heroes and visionaries
Not all heroes wear capes – some wear lab coats. Our research team is made up of true luminaries in their field: oncologists, pharmacologists, internal medicine specialists, well known cancer researchers and many other renowned interdisciplinary physicians. They all share a single dream: the dream of a world without cancer! Collaborations, cooperations and partnerships are the key to successful cancer medicine. That is why the teamwork of Prof. Jung, Prof. Salih and Dr. Martin Pflügler led to the foundation of TWYCE GmbH in 2023. Together with the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation and the SPRIND subsidiary BiconY, founded in January 2023, the team is collaborating on new treatment methods and innovative drug combinations.
Boris Klimovich
At BiconY, Dr. Boris Klimovich serves as a senior scientist, leading transformative research in therapeutic antibodies targeting cancer. Leveraging extensive knowledge in antibody development and cancer immunology, Boris leads our efforts in creating impactful solutions for patients.
Sebastian Hörner
Sebastian Hörner joined BiconY Therapeutics as a Senior Scientist in 2023. He studied technical biology at the University of Stuttgart from 2011 to 2017, where he started his work in the field of recombinant antibodies in the lab of Roland Kontermann. From 2017 to 2021, he worked as a PhD candidate in the group of Gundram Jung in the Department of Immunology at the University of Tübingen. Between 2021 and 2023, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the group of Helmut Salih in the Clinical Cooperation Unit Translational Immunology at the University Hospital Tübingen. His current research interest is the development of bispecific costimulatory antibodies.
Gundram Jung, M.D., M. Sc.
Gundram Jung was a pioneer in the field of costimulating bispecific antibodies back in the 1980s. He is a key inventor of our assets and, as Chief of Science at BiconY, is responsible for their further development.
Martin Pflügler, PhD, MBA
Martin Pflügler is a pharmacist and, as Chief Technology Officer at BiconY, is responsible for the GMP-compliant production of our assets. He is also in charge of the toxicological animal studies.
Jonas Heitmann, PD Dr. med.
Jonas Heitmann is a specialist in internal medicine, haematology and oncology. As Chief Medical Officer, he manages the clinical trial program at BiconY and ensures that the patient comes first in all decisions.
Sigrid Koeth
Sigrid Koeth has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, where she has worked successfully in various positions along the value chain. She supports BiconY as Chief Executive Officer.
Work that is changing the world
The importance of research into new therapeutic treatment methods is demonstrated by the example of prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men. Prostate carcinomas can become resistant to standard androgen deprivation therapy – in which case there are only a few treatment options. The time has come for innovative treatment approaches!
This is where our partner Twyce comes in with its platform concept. A combination of proprietary, bispecific CD3 antibodies (bsAbCD3) and bispecific CD28 co-stimulators (BiCos) increases the specificity, sustainability and efficiency of T-cell recruitment, particularly against solid tumours, when used together. BiconY, SPRIND and Twyce are acting in concert to achieve the long-sought-after cancer research breakthrough in Germany. We dream of one day living in a world without cancer!
Our approach: 2 targets – 2 signals
The development of the “2 targets – 2 signals” approach is based on years of work by Prof. Gundram Jung and Prof. Helmut Salih, who have been working in cancer research for decades. This concept is a quantum leap in the area of therapy with bispecific antibodies.
Our research approach in tumour therapy improves the access of T cells to solid tumours by targeting two different target antigens, both of which occur on tumour cells but are not simultaneously present on healthy tissue. This not only produces excellent tumour-specificity, but also improves the effectiveness of the immune response. In brief, “2 targets – 2 signals” has just one goal: to beat cancer!
Working together to achieve success
People’s health keeps us motivated from day to day. After many years of intensive research, we have succeeded in developing a promising platform and forming an experienced team of researchers. In the coming years, we need to:
- conduct toxicity studies
- prepare and conduct a clinical phase I study to test the therapeutic efficacy of our innovative drug combination on patients with metastasised prostate carcinoma
- prepare and conduct a clinical phase I study of patients with metastasised gastrointestinal tumours
- develop new and innovative drug combinations for other solid tumour diseases
- gather scientific findings and make them accessible to society (transfer of knowledge)
Our goal: successful treatment of solid tumours
Our goal is to provide a pipeline of potentially groundbreaking active substances for the drug development process to treat solid tumours. Sooner or later, our intention is for these to be available options for use in the first-line treatment of tumour diseases. We are getting closer to this goal all the time; just one year after founding BiconY, our pipeline is filling up and the first promising tumour medications are in the preclinical phase and, as monotherapies, in the clinical trial phase.
We still have a long way to go, however: we hope in the long run to be able to replace the existing standard therapies, which have severe side effects, with our new treatment methods. We need a committed team of researchers to achieve this!
Milestones reached
In 2019, an initial study of bispecific antibodies carrying signal 1 in patients with advanced, castration-resistant prostate carcinoma was conducted in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tübingen and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ). Since 2022, this antibody has been used in patients with a low tumour burden in cases of biochemical recurrence of the prostate carcinoma.
Further studies of patients with advanced stage prostate cancer are planned for 2024. These studies will use a bispecific costimulator (BiCo) for the second signal. Other bispecific antibodies for other types of cancer are in an advanced stage of development.
FAQs about the BiconY research team
Questions and answers about the BiconY Therapeutics research team and our
approaches in tumour therapy
What are the fundamental principles and the philosophy of the BiconY research team?
BiconY stands for innovation and cooperation in the field of tumour therapy. We believe that innovative ideas can come from anywhere, so we promote an open and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and visions. Our philosophy is to push the limits of what is possible in cancer research, while at the same time maintaining the highest ethical and scientific standards.
What are the main goals and visions of the BiconY research team?
Our goals reach far beyond the development of cancer medications. We are working on groundbreaking treatments for patients with solid tumours in a wide range of cancers. Our vision is to make fundamental changes to the way cancer is treated and to improve the quality of life of cancer patients worldwide. Our research team is working on further improving the effectiveness of our therapeutic approach in order to increase the survival rate of patients significantly.
What role does the collaboration between SPRIND and BiconY play, and what advantages does it provide?
The collaboration between SPRIND and BiconY in the field of cancer research creates an ideal environment for researchers. This close association allows us to master scientific tasks. SPRIND’s activities include legal and administrative tasks, leaving BiconY to focus entirely on its core work: winning the fight against cancer.
What role does the collaboration between TWYCE and BiconY play, and what advantages does it provide?
The research cooperation between Twyce and BiconY is aimed at developing novel BiCos and sAbs. We combine our forces and scientific experience to develop innovations in cancer research in Germany and worldwide.
