Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from Masaryk University in Brno and with the support of i&i Prague, CasInvent Pharma specializes in the development of highly selective inhibitors targeting the casein kinase 1 enzyme family. These enzymes play an important role in several disease-related processes, including the migration of leukemia cells into lymphoid organs. The small-molecule inhibitors are designed to target individual isoforms of CK1 and thereby selectively eradicate leukemic cells.
“It’s gratifying to have convinced both new and existing partners to support our quest in developing effective treatment options and hope for patients suffering from these cancers with a very low survival rate,” says Alexander Scheer, CEO of CasInvent Pharma. He believes these inhibitors have the potential to treat patients with conditions like acute myeloid leukemia, pancreatic cancer, certain types of breast cancer (TNBC), and other diseases with limited treatment options.
“The company’s ability to attract new investors reaffirms not just the project’s quality, but also the combined expertise of the team at CasInvent Pharma,” says Ivan Vohlmuth, a partner at i&i Bio. “The team has worked really hard over the past 18 months and achieved promising data in the development of their CK1 inhibitor portfolio. We are pleased to continue to support the company,” add Michael Krebs and Peter Nussbaumer from KHAN-I.
Joining the investment round, alongside i&i Bio, KHAN-I and i&i Prague, are two new partners: the Holeček Family Foundation and BIOINVESTIMED a. s. “Supporting this innovative project allows us to participate in the important development of new treatment methods and therapeutic strategies in the field of oncological diseases. At the same time, we are impressed that a Czech entity has embarked on this difficult and financially demanding path. With our engagement we would like to motivate other investors to fund promising life science companies in the Czech Republic,” says Ondřej Novák, Director of the Holeček Family Foundation.
About CasInvent Pharma
CasInvent Pharma is a drug discovery spin-off company established in 2020 by Masaryk University (MU) and Bio-Innovation Centre i&i Prague, s.r.o. (Ltd). The mission of the company is to develop new therapeutic options for the treatment of resistant tumours. The CasInvent platform is based on the use of proprietary, best-in-class highly selective inhibitors of enzymes belonging to the casein kinase 1 (CK1) family that are responsible for the regulation of different cellular mechanisms leading to resistance to targeted therapies.
