San Sebastián and Barcelona-based biotech Adaptam Therapeutics has raised €3 million in a pre-seed round led by Criteria Bio Ventures to develop first-in-class antibody therapies targeting immunosuppressive myeloid cells in solid tumours.
The funding will allow Adaptam to advance its antibody-based programmes, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies, into the preclinical stage across multiple oncology indications. As part of the round, Salvatore Cappadona and Pablo Cironi from Criteria Bio Ventures have joined the company’s board of directors.
“Immunosuppressive myeloid cells within tumours present one of the toughest challenges in immunotherapy today. Our goal is to neutralise this obstacle by developing therapies that specifically target these cells, offering patients new hope where traditional approaches have failed,” said Asis Palazon, founder, CEO and CSO of Adaptam.
Adaptam’s approach focuses on disrupting the tumour microenvironment, which often prevents immune cells from effectively attacking cancer. Its therapies target glycoimmune checkpoints selectively expressed in immunosuppressive myeloid cells such as tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs).
“We are thrilled to support Adaptam in its mission to transform cancer treatment by targeting the immunosuppressive cells within the TME. The scientific breakthroughs achieved by Prof. Asis Palazon and his team have laid the groundwork for potentially life-changing therapies,” said Pablo Cironi, chairman of Adaptam’s board.
Adaptam was founded based on research from CIC bioGUNE in Bilbao, with early support from Criteria Bio Ventures and a Caixa Research Health grant awarded to Palazon in 2021. Some of the underlying discoveries have been published in Nature Communications.
“CIC bioGUNE’s long-standing leadership in glycobiology provided the scientific foundation for Adaptam and we have supported the company from its earliest steps through to today’s preclinical maturation,” said Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, scientific director of CIC bioGUNE.
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