Key Investor Signals
Closed second Pre-Seed round after €300,000 growth loan
TheraPPI Bioscience closed its second Pre-Seed equity round in June 2026. It followed a €300,000 Bpifrance Growth Loan in December 2025.
Demonstrated anti-tumor activity in preclinical models
A 2024 Nature Communications study showed that EI-52 killed patient-derived tumor cells ex vivo and triggered an anti-tumor T-cell response in mice.
Secured exclusive global rights to drug compounds
In 2023, TheraPPI-France licensed compounds from PULSALYS, the Lyon technology-transfer organization, to develop drugs targeting a RAS-MAPK protein interaction.
Team
Luc Otten
CEO and Co-founder
- Served as COO of Phi Pharma from 2014 to 2019 as it built a drug-discovery operation focused on peptide drug conjugates.
- Worked as Principal at Vinci Capital from 2011 to 2015, covering investments in biotech, diagnostics and medical devices.
- Advised Mablink Bioscience on its scientific board from 2021 to 2023, contributing experience in antibody-drug conjugates.
Toufic Renno
CSO and Co-founder
- Leads an academic team at the Lyon Cancer Research Center focused on non-canonical protein functions in cancer.
- Co-authored the 2010 Journal of Clinical Investigation study linking MyD88 to RAS-driven transformation in mouse and human cells.
- Earned a PhD in immunology at McGill University and developed a research career spanning academia and the pharmaceutical industry.
Isabelle Coste
SVP Biology and Co-founder
- Works as a tenured CNRS researcher at the Lyon Cancer Research Center, with biology experience in academia and industry.
- Was first author of the 2010 Journal of Clinical Investigation paper on MyD88 in RAS signaling and cell transformation.
- Holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Lyon, providing specialist training in immune-system biology.
Product
TheraPPI develops small molecules targeting the interaction between ERK and MyD88 within the RAS-MAPK pathway. Its lead oncology program builds on the research compound EI-52, which induced cancer-cell death and anti-tumor immune activity in preclinical models.
Disrupting a protein partnership
The compounds interfere with ERK binding to MyD88 while preserving its kinase activity. This changes how growth signals are organized inside cancer cells and activates a stress response that can trigger cell death.
Engaging anti-tumor immunity
In mouse models, EI-52 induced cancer-cell death that stimulated an anti-tumor T-cell response. The program aims to combine direct tumor killing with immune activity to address resistance to existing targeted therapies.
Two programs from one target
The first program targets advanced cancers; the second addresses rare diseases linked to the RAS-MAPK pathway. Both use the ERK/MyD88 interaction as a drug target and remain part of a preclinical development portfolio.
Market Overview
Targeted cancer medicines are an established pharmaceutical category, prescribed by oncologists and funded through healthcare systems and insurers. Resistance to growth-signaling inhibitors creates demand for additional treatments, including drugs that act on protein interactions within the same pathways.
Solid-tumor medicines account for most oncology drug sales. Established RAS-MAPK treatments provide a commercial precedent for this biology, while new drug launches expand treatment choices. Hospitals, oncology practices and payers assess these therapies by tumor type, clinical benefit and their place in treatment sequences.
Medicines for solid tumors generated $194B in worldwide sales during 2025.
Novartis's two targeted cancer drugs generated combined global net sales of $2.215B in 2025.
The global oncology market added 25 novel active substances in 2024, across treatment modalities.
A total of 2,162 oncology trials began worldwide in 2024, reflecting an active drug-development field.
Comparable Outcomes
Warp Drive Bio
Warp Drive Bio developed small-molecule approaches to difficult cancer targets, including active KRAS, using new molecular contacts on protein surfaces. Revolution Medicines acquired Warp Drive Bio in October 2018 in exchange for preferred stock and cash, combining their precision-oncology discovery portfolios.
Interested in More Startups Like TheraPPI Bioscience?
Get a curated pipeline of healthcare and life sciences startups aligned with your investment thesis.
Sources
This profile was built from public company materials, ecosystem sources, market references, and professional profiles.