Lumox has signed an exclusive license agreement with Utrecht Holdings, on behalf of Utrecht University, securing the rights to two patent families protecting the core of its Selective PhotoTherapy technology.

The agreement marks an important step in the development of Lumox and provides the company with the intellectual property position needed to attract investment and advance its technology towards clinical development.

The science behind Lumox was developed at Utrecht University, in the research group of Sabrina Oliveira. This is where the ideas, experiments and inventions behind the technology originated.

From university invention to the foundation for investment

Turning promising academic research into a new cancer treatment requires substantial investment. Before a therapy can reach patients, it must undergo further development, including large-scale drug production, safety studies and clinical trials.

The exclusive license gives Lumox the rights needed to develop and commercialise the patented technology, while ensuring that Utrecht University shares in the future success and impact of the inventions originating from its research.

The agreement therefore creates a clear path for the technology to move beyond the university and towards clinical development: Lumox can now build the company and attract the investment required to develop Selective PhotoTherapy, while Utrecht University continues to benefit from the impact of its research.

The license agreement was reached following a period of constructive negotiations between Lumox and Utrecht Holdings. It represents an important milestone in the company’s journey from university invention to a potential new treatment for patients, starting with head and neck cancer.

About Lumox — Lumox is a Utrecht-based biotech company developing Selective PhotoTherapy: a new generation of precision cancer medicines that combine a tumor-seeking nanobody with a light-activatable drug. The medicine remains inactive in the body until it is activated with harmless light, exactly where and when it is needed, killing cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Lumox builds on more than a decade of research at Utrecht University and works closely with UMC Utrecht. More information: www.lumoxbiotech.com