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Oncology companies presented at DNB

Well-known companies and intriguing newcomers in the cancer field were featured at the DNB conference this week.

Three men are photographed at a professional event, all dressed in business attire. The man on the left wears a dark suit and white shirt, the man in the center is in a blazer over a beige shirt, and the man on the right is dressed in a checkered shirt with a friendly smile. All wear name tags indicating their participation. Behind them, a digital screen displays the text "node pharma" and "Aurenda," suggesting the event relates to the pharmaceutical or biotech industry. The modern indoor setting features wood paneling and a businesslike atmosphere.
Published

Nov 28, 2024

Author

Sofia Linden

Category
Event

The DNB Nordic Healthcare Conference 2024 took place on Tuesday this week. The annual event gathers industry, start-ups, investors and politicians for an engaging day on how to advance Norwegian healthcare industry. The event included panel conversations about the Norwegian health export reform, company presentations from some of the brightest stars in the industry and buzzing networking breaks.

Several members of Oslo Cancer Cluster were again featured this year, both in the market session and in the start-up pavilion.

A woman smiles at the camera while standing next to a teal-colored pillar branded with the "DNB" logo and the word "Conference." She is dressed in a black textured jacket over a patterned blouse with chain designs, and a name badge is clipped to her jacket. The setting is a modern indoor conference venue with a professional atmosphere, where other attendees and digital screens are visible in the background. Bright ceiling lights and a sleek design accentuate the venue's corporate environment.
Katja Vetvik, CEO and founder of Thelper, was featured in the start-up pavilion.

Katja Vetvik, CEO and founder of Thelper, was one of the selected start-ups who met with investors on the day. Thelper is currently in the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator’s Accelerator programme.

"We have developed a first-in-class antibody drug conjugate (ADC). It is a very targeted therapy, bringing chemotherapy right into the cancer cells. In oncology, there has been great progression in targeted therapeutic modalities. However, there is still a huge unmet need for actionable target proteins which are present on the surface of cancer cells and not present in healthy tissues.

"We have identified one such new target protein, which is highly present in aggressive cancers but not in healthy cells. The protein has not been characterized or targeted previously in oncology. We developed an ADC against this target. We are thereby directing the chemotherapy exclusively to the aggressive and metastatic cancer cells. The treatment may be used against all kinds of hard-to-treat cancers, including breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and brain tumors and will be hopefully safe too.

"We have designed and produced this drug and have also run some mouse trials. We placed human hard-to-treat breast tumours in mice and treated them with our drug. The initial pre-clinical studies have showed highly promising results, and we are now looking for capital to run more such trials, which will establish the efficacy of our drug in several tumor types. We are also in a process of developing a toxicity model."

Two men are pictured at a professional event. The man on the right wears a gray blazer over a light blue shirt, with a name tag indicating his attendance at the "DNB Conference" and affiliation with "Oncosyne." The man on the left, wearing a yellow and green plaid shirt and carrying a shoulder bag, smiles warmly while working on a laptop. In the background, a digital screen displays the logos "oncosyne" and "HELSE." The setting features a modern interior with a staircase and bright lighting, suggesting a conference or networking event.
CEO Jarle Bruun and CTO Peter Eide, Oncosyne, participated in the start-up pavilion to network with relevant partners.

Oncosyne, another start-up from the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, was represented by Jarle Bruun and Peter Eide in the start-up pavilion.

“We have established a platform for growing and screening patient-derived cancer cells and the vision is to leverage the technology to significantly improve the precision of cancer therapy for individual patients. The platform can also be used to accelerate drug development, and we want to contribute with our setup and know-how to make more efficient drugs reach the clinic."

"The concept is simple. You take the patient’s cancer cells, grow them in culture and then you test the drugs directly on the cancer cells. The concept has been used for infectious diseases for >70 years [antibiotic sensitivity testing ]. The challenge has been getting cancer cells to grow reliably in culture, which was a breakthrough that happened 10 years ago. This is however only the first step. You also need to have robust, accurate and precise drug screening technology compatible with patient healthcare.

“At the moment, we are focusing on product verification and further research and development. The first indication is metastatic colorectal cancer with a clinical performance study anticipated to start early 2025 at Akershus University Hospital. We have also started a project on pancreatic cancer with Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden and the University of Oslo to expand the technology platform.”

Three men are photographed at a professional event, all dressed in business attire. The man on the left wears a dark suit and white shirt, the man in the center is in a blazer over a beige shirt, and the man on the right is dressed in a checkered shirt with a friendly smile. All wear name tags indicating their participation. Behind them, a digital screen displays the text "node pharma" and "Aurenda," suggesting the event relates to the pharmaceutical or biotech industry. The modern indoor setting features wood paneling and a businesslike atmosphere.
Erik Mjåland, Tor Espen Stav-Noraas and Sigurd Øien-Ødegaard, co-founders of Node Pharma.

Node Pharma was also featured in the start-up pavilion as one of the promising companies in the Norwegian oncology field.

“Node is developing a radiopharmaceutical drug based on Radium-223 to treat primary and secondary liver cancer. There is a huge unmet medical need for effective therapies against primary liver cancer as there are really no good treatment options for the patient group we are focusing on.”

“We are currently in the later stages of pre-clinical development with the goal of initiating first-in-human studies next year, which will last until 2027. During that period, we will identify the recommended dose for an expansion cohort and the Phase II pivotal trial. For the Phase I study, we will get safety read-out in 2026 and efficacy read-out in 2027."

Markets session

Several members of Oslo Cancer Cluster were also represented during the markets session, including Photocure, Lytix Biopharma, Oncoinvent, Zelluna Immunotherapy and Augere Medical. The company presentations gave intriguing insights into the companies' latest developments and spurred further interests from many conference attendees.

A professional presentation is underway in a modern conference room. A man in a dark suit stands at the front, gesturing as he delivers his talk. Behind him, a digital screen displays a slide titled "A unique radiopharmaceutical opportunity," with bullet points highlighting advantages such as "high unmet need," "signals of efficacy," and "experienced team." Seated attendees, some in formal attire, listen attentively, with one holding a notebook. The setting includes a large wooden table, laptops, glass bottles, and cups, emphasizing a business or scientific meeting atmosphere. The branding "oncoinvent" appears on the slide, identifying the presenter’s affiliation.
Øystein Soug, CEO of Oncoinvent, presented the company's radiopharmaceutical product against cancer, recent updates and future plans, to a crowded room.
A professional presentation on cancer treatment is taking place in a conference room. A man dressed in a dark blazer and jeans stands in front of a wall-mounted screen displaying a slide titled "Cancer treatment." The slide includes discussion points about treatment modalities for late-stage cancer patients, mentioning cell therapies. The logo "Zelluna" is visible on the bottom right corner of the slide. On the wooden table in the foreground are items such as a laptop, water bottles, glass cups, and a coffee mug, emphasizing a business or academic setting. Attendees seated off-camera appear to be listening attentively.
Namir Hassan, CEO of Zelluna Immunotherapy, caught the audience's interest when presenting the company's unique TCR-NK cell therapy platform against cancer.
A speaker is delivering a presentation on colorectal cancer (CRC) in a professional setting. The screen behind him displays a slide titled "Colorectal Cancer (CRC) has the fourth highest incidence in the world." It features statistics comparing CRC cases and deaths in 2020 to projections for 2040, with significant increases shown: 1.9 million cases in 2020 rising to 3.2 million (+68%) and 930,000 deaths in 2020 increasing to 1.6 million (+72%). The slide includes logos and citations in the bottom corners. A glass water bottle and glasses are placed on a table nearby, contributing to the formal meeting ambiance.
David Borge Larsen, interim CEO of Augere Medical, presented the company's AI-driven colonoscopy guidance system, which will support clinicians in identifying polyps during exams.

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