News

OXFORD, UK & SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, SPAIN —ARJUNA Therapeutics are proud to be collaborating with researchers at the University of Oxford on a new project funded by a prestigious research grant from Brain Research UK. This funding will support critical investigations into ARJUNA’s lead molecule, Ag5, as a potential breakthrough treatment for paediatric high-grade glioma, one of the most challenging forms of childhood cancer.

The research will be conducted at the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, within the laboratory of Professor Ester Hammond, PhD. Professor Hammond is a leading expert in the cellular response to hypoxia and DNA damage, making her lab uniquely positioned to evaluate Ag5’s efficacy in the complex environment of paediatric brain cancer.

A New Chapter in Paediatric Oncology

This grant marks the official launch of ARJUNA Therapeutics’ paediatric brain cancer programme. While the company continues to advance its clinical pipeline for adult glioblastoma and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), this new initiative underscores a commitment to addressing the high unmet medical need in paediatric neuro-oncology.

Paediatric high-grade gliomas are aggressive tumours located in the central reaches of the brain, often making surgical intervention impossible. Survival rates are very poor, with no significant therapeutic advances for many years. The Ag5 molecule offers a novel therapeutic approach designed to exploit specific metabolic vulnerabilities in these cancer cells while sparing healthy brain tissue.

Leadership Perspectives

"We are incredibly grateful to Brain Research UK for recognising the potential of this collaboration," said Professor Ester Hammond. "My team is eager to apply our expertise to evaluate Ag5. Paediatric high-grade gliomas are devastating for families, and finding a targeted, effective treatment is a priority."

Dr. Ross Breckenridge, PhD FRCP, CEO of ARJUNA Therapeutics, added:

"Expanding our research into paediatric oncology is a milestone moment for ARJUNA. By partnering with Professor Hammond and the world-class facilities at Oxford, we are bringing our lead molecule, Ag5, to the front lines of the fight against childhood brain cancer. This work runs in parallel with our existing programs in adult glioblastoma and lung cancer, broadening the horizon for what our technology can achieve."

About ARJUNA Therapeutics

ARJUNA Therapeutics is a Europe-based biotech company dedicated to developing a new class of small-molecule medicines:  Therapeutic Molecular Clusters (TMC). Ag5 the first TMC, designed to target oxidative stress pathways in cancer cells, leaving non-cancer brain tissue unaffected, providing a potent and selective treatment option for hard-to-treat malignancies.

About Brain Research UK

Brain Research UK is the UK's leading dedicated funder of neurological research. They fund research into a large number of neurological conditions, with a focus on three areas of high unmet need: brain tumours, brain and spinal cord injury, and headache and facial pain.

Media Contacts:

• Oxford University Oncology Press Office: communications@oncology.ox.ac.uk 
• ARJUNA Therapeutics Communications: info@arjunatherapeutics.com

Arjuna Therapeutics is proud to announce the presentation of groundbreaking new preclinical data on its lead compound, Ag5, at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, taking place in Chicago, April 25–30, 2025.

The presentations, led by Arjuna's academic collaborators at the De Smet Lab, KU Leuven (Belgium), provide insights into both the therapeutic efficacy and biomarker landscape of Ag5 in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

• Title: Ag5: A novel quantum cluster therapy targeting mitochondria and antioxidant systems in glioblastoma
• Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
• Session Title: Novel Antitumor Agents 4
• Date & Time: April 30, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Location: Poster Section 21
• Poster Board Number: 22
• Abstract Number: 6878

• Session Title: Diagnostic and Predictive Biomarkers
• Date & Time: April 29, 2025, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.
• Presentation Title: Characterization of therapeutic effects in glioblastoma through integrated spatial single-cell multiome profiling of longitudinal samples: Unveiling clinically relevant subtypes of pathological changes
• Location: To be announced

New in vitro and in vivo model efficacy and biomarker data from patient-derived Glioblastoma Multiforme samples will add to the already strong preclinical data package for Arjuna Therapeutics' Ag5. These results further support Ag5’s differentiated profile and therapeutic promise.

The Ag5 programme remains on track to commence human trials in 2027, a major milestone in Arjuna’s mission to develop first-in-class therapies for hard-to-treat cancers.

ARJUNA Therapeutics has started investigating a new indication for Ag5: Carboplatin resistant ovarian cancer-responsible for 300,000 deaths worldwide annually. We have started a collaboration with Professor Miguel Abal and the Translational Medical Oncology Group at the Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela (SERGAS) to examine tumours taken directly from the abdominal fluid (ascites) of patients whose cancer has failed to respond to carboplatin. These patients have very few treatment options. Our initial results show that Ag5 is effective against these human tumours in vitro-this work is continuing to identify patient groups for possible future studies and clinical trials. Ross Breckenridge, CEO, said “These very encouraging results open another potential indication for Ag5. We are now generating positive data from human cancer samples in Japan, Belgium, the UK and Spain. This emphasises our ambition to be a truly international company with Spanish roots”.

Arjuna Therapeutics is proud to announce its selection to present at the prestigious SILO Summit 2024, held on December 3 at the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid (COAM), Spain. This premier event brings together startups, investors, and experts in the life sciences sector to discuss transformative innovations and foster collaborations.

Participation at SILO Summit 2024 highlights Arjuna's commitment to advancing cancer therapies and provides a platform to showcase its innovative approaches to addressing unmet needs in cancer treatment.

For more information, visit https://silosummit2024.com.

Arjuna Therapeutics was recently honoured with a prestigious award at the MEET2WIN Oncology Convention in Bordeaux, France. In an event which showcased around thirty innovative projects aimed at tackling cancer, Arjuna Therapeutics received recognition for its development potential. The company was acknowledged by the investors jury, OUI Oncology Upward Investment, which consisted of twenty investors dedicated to supporting the growth of promising European companies in the field of oncology. This recognition highlights Arjuna Therapeutics' commitment to advancing cancer therapies and its transformative potential in addressing the unmet needs of cancer patients.

Arjuna Therapeutics participated in the 2020 Bio International Convention through the Igape (Galician Institute for Economic Promotion) program “Plan Foexga 2019-2020”. The conference was held virtually and took place between 8-12 June, 2020. Its primary focus was on collaboration and partnership as means to create a policy environment that enables the industry to continue to fulfill its vision of bettering the world through biotechnology innovation. The main objective of these grants is to encourage and stimulate Galician foreign trade and the internationalization of Galician SMEs. The result that is intended is to increase the base of exporting companies and consolidate the presence of Galician companies in international markets. Initiative co-financed by the European Union.

Operational Programme FEDER (ERDF – European Regional Development Fund) Galicia 2017-2020

To achieve a more competitive business network

Arjuna (NANOGAP) Therapeutics won £100K-worth of experimentation with the cloud lab. When asked about how NANOGAP plans to use Arctoris’ lab, the CEO Ross Beckenridge explained that they would use it to robotise their experiments, and specifically test how their drug compares to 20 others on 20 different types of cancer cells. “We are interested in a blood test to detect tumours that are sensitive to our drug, as well as how our drug would interact with therapies that are already in use on a cellular level,” Beckenridge said. 

Following a first stage of the competition based on proposals submitted online, BioTarget selected the 8 most promising projects, inviting them to a pitch event in London, UK. During the pitch event, the finalists will present their projects, and a panel of experienced drug discovery researchers and investors will select the three winners, who will be awarded up to $100,000 in free experimentation conducted in Europe's leading cloud lab. The eight finalists – Macromoltek, Arjuna (NANOGAP) Therapeutics, Delve Therapeutics, HOX Therapeutics, Synchrony, Arxeon, Spycombinator and CDK11B – pitched their visions to four judges in the hope of winning access to Arctoris’ cloud lab, allowing them to design and order an experiment which is carried out by a robotics platform. The judges – Sonal Patel, Oncology Lead at Johnson & Johnson Innovation Centre, Jackie Hunter, CEO of BenevolentBio, Vishal Gulati, Health Tech Investor and Tony Hickson, CBO of Cancer Research UK – took into consideration the individual start-up’s scientific and entrepreneurial approach and how the respective technologies or molecules address urgent needs in cancer therapy. 

The inaugural BioTarget Competition for speeding up the race to beat cancer had over 50 companies submit applications for new and innovation agents. Cancer is a disease that affects far too many people, with one in two being diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. Scientific research has already changed the lives of many suffering from this disease, but there continues to be an urgent need for new breakthroughs in cancer drug development.

BioTarget directly addresses the urgent need for new drugs and treatments. The competition is directed at early-stage ventures aiming at developing new molecules for cancer treatment and is kindly supported by Cancer Research UK.

The competition was open to those seeking to further characterize or validate their drug target using cellular and molecular assays. BioTarget invited researchers from around the world to join forces to find new drugs and bring them to market faster.