University of Basel spin-off 201 Therapeutics receives seed funding to develop new liver cancer treatments

Liver cancer remains difficult to treat. Many patients respond poorly to existing therapies or experience only temporary benefits. Despite advances in immunotherapy, there is still a significant need for new treatment approaches based on different mechanisms of action.

This is where 201 Therapeutics comes in. The company is developing a new class of small-molecule compounds designed to target cancer cells directly while minimizing damage to healthy liver tissue. Its approach builds on a collection of miniature tumor models grown from patient tissue samples. These models allow researchers to test potential compounds directly on human cancer cells at the earliest stages of drug development.

Using this approach, the company has identified two proprietary compound series that have demonstrated strong anticancer activity and high selectivity compared with non-malignant liver cells in initial studies. The next steps are to optimize the most promising compounds and evaluate their efficacy in preclinical studies using animal models. The funding from Venture Kick will support this work and help the company select a suitable drug candidate for further development.

The founding team emerged from a research group at the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel. It brings together expertise in cancer research, clinical medicine and drug development. The team comprises CEO Dr. Sandro Nuciforo, CTO Dr. Fredrik Trulsson, CMO Prof. Dr. Markus Heim and Head of Chemistry Dr. Emmanuel Meyer.

“Venture Kick helped us translate years of liver cancer research into a clear development and commercialization strategy and define the key next steps,” says co-founder and CEO Sandro Nuciforo.