Leukos Biotech is a spin-off company from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, focused on developing new treatments and diagnostic tools for a wide variety of tumors, including both hematological and solid.

We have identified a new oncological target, the serotonin receptor 1B (HTR1B), against Cancer Stem Cells and refractory to chemotherapy cancer cells with attributes that justify pharmacological intervention: antioncogenic activity, particularly on clonogenic cells, with high selectivity with respect to normal cells, and potential to patient segmentation and personalization based on differential expression levels.

With the aim of tackling this oncological target, Leukos Biotech has generated a proprietary broad chemical space of molecules targeting HTR1B. The company’s lead candidate, LB208, is a first-in-class orally available NCE highly specific and selective HTR1B antagonist with a very safe profile and designed as low crossing BBB, providing a very powerful and broad-spectrum antitumoral agent with potential to address current unmet needs in solid tumors such as Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) or Ovarian Cancer, and in hematological malignancies such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

The mechanism of action affects preferentially Cancer Stem Cells and chemotherapy resistant cells, inducing apoptosis and terminal differentiation, and sparing healthy cells. Extensive target validation and LB208 preclinical proof of concept show medical plausibility to treat hematological and solid tumors that express HTR1B, with a profile that is both short term (by killing refractory cells) and long term (preventing potential relapse by target the stem cell reservoir).

LB208 will be further further developed by AOP Health in partnership with Leukos Biotech, setting basis for new therapies not limited to oncological or rare diseases. LB208 is expected to be ready for clinical development in 2023

Leukos has also validated proprietary mABs as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients according to the expression of the target.