Araris Biotech wins CHF 130,000 from Venture Kick to accelerate speed-to-market

Araris has developed a technology to improve current antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and focuses on anti- cancer applications. Attaching drugs to antibodies means toxic chemotherapeutics can be delivered to cancerous tissue precisely, sparing healthy parts of the human body. With their proprietary ADC linker technology, Araris’ drug attachment is simple, highly controlled and has the potential to accommodate various drug combinations. This significantly improves the ADC’s safety and efficacy, and also makes manufacture more-straightforward.

“Araris has the potential to become a powerful drug development platform able to enter large commercial markets and address the great unmet medical needs with proprietary ADCs, by helping to overcome limitations seen with conventional ADCs now in clinical testing,” CEO and co-founder, Philipp Spycher, said.

The spin-off from the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich is currently testing its proof-of-concept as a prelude to collaborations with biotech partners and investors. “It’s important to further evaluate and substantiate our current knowledge of our linker technology by means of versatility, blood plasma stability and efficacy and toxicity,” Spycher said.
Araris has already gained major traction and signed several feasibility study agreements with large pharma companies interested in evaluating the ADC technology. Founded in January 2019, the company is raising a tranched Series A round to start the projects, to build a skilled and powerful team, and to complete the expertise with key opinion leaders in the ADC field to join their scientific advisory board.

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