Developing small-molecule drugs to redirect immune cells against cancer
Tumours can turn nearby immune cells called macrophages into protectors rather than attackers. This suppresses the immune response and helps cancer resist treatment. Patients whose tumours evade immune attack may respond poorly to existing therapies.
Abbmira Therapeutics develops small-molecule medicines for hard-to-treat cancers. Its investigational lead, Compound42, is designed to switch tumour-associated macrophages into an anticancer state, helping the immune system attack tumours.
What stands out about Abbmira Therapeutics
In mouse skin-cancer models, C42 plus a PD1 inhibitor reduced tumour growth more than PD1 inhibitor alone, according to SATW.
Co-founder Marc Creus holds a Cambridge PhD in biochemistry and has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical startup experience.
Venture Kick selected Abbmira for its first support stage and awarded CHF 10,000 in its January 2025 announcement.
Abbmira is a partner in MAVERIC, a Swiss-Polish research project with over CHF 860,000 in total consortium funding.
Abbmira was selected for the arise marketboost accelerator, which featured its cancer-immunotherapy team in a batch announcement.
Before Abbmira, Marc Creus co-founded Kherion Technology and served as its owner and chief scientific officer from 2003 to 2016.
Julia Biwer was plusbiome’s co-founder and CEO.
Marc Creus previously held chief scientific officer and business-development leadership roles in antibiotic-development startups.
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