NETRIS Pharma secures €7.25M Horizon Europe grant for Phase 2b head-and-neck cancer trial
What's the deal? NETRIS Pharma, a clinical-stage oncology company based in Lyon and Geneva, has secured €7.25M from the EU's Horizon EuropeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → programme to run a Phase 2b clinical trial of its drug NP137 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The randomised, multi-centre trial will be led by Dr Jérôme Fayette at Centre Léon Bérard in Lyon and conducted across sites in France and Spain.
The study is a partnership between NETRIS Pharma, GORTEC — the leading French cooperative oncology group for head and neck cancer — and TTCC, the Spanish equivalent. Université Libre de Bruxelles is also part of the consortium.
NP137 targets the netrin-1 / epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) axis, a mechanism linked to treatment resistance in HNSCC. It is the only clinical-stage anti-netrin-1 therapy in development.
Why now? The grant builds on positive results from the Phase 2 ImmunoNET study, which showed NP137's potential to overcome immunotherapy resistance — a major problem in HNSCC, where a large share of patients relapse after initial treatment.
"The scientific rationale for targeting netrin-1 in HNSCC to alleviate resistance to immunotherapy and thus extend the survival of patients is compelling," said Dr Fayette.
What could go wrong? Phase 2b trials are still early-stage in the grand scheme of drug development. Positive Phase 2 results don't guarantee success in later, larger trials. HNSCC is notoriously difficult to treat, and the trial still needs to demonstrate clear efficacy and safety in a randomised setting before regulatory discussions can begin.
The funding, while significant, covers only this trial. NETRIS Pharma will likely need additional capital to advance NP137 through Phase 3 and toward commercialisation.
The signal: NETRIS Pharma sits at the early growth stage with a first-in-class asset — the only clinical-stage anti-netrin-1 therapy — in an oncology sub-field increasingly focused on cracking immunotherapy resistance rather than replicating existing checkpoint inhibitors. Securing a competitive Horizon Europe grant not only de-risks the Phase 2b programme financially but also serves as independent validation that could strengthen the company's hand when it inevitably returns to the market for the larger capital raise needed to fund a Phase 3 trial and eventual commercialisation.
Read more: EIN Presswire
