Every year, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are diagnosed with head and neck cancer. For many of them, the only curative option is still radical surgery: removing parts of the tongue, jaw, or throat, an operation that can permanently affect speech, swallowing, and appearance.

“We have made great progress, but there is still a need for treatments that are less burdensome while remaining highly effective,” says Prof. dr. Remco de Bree, head and neck surgeon at UMC Utrecht and lead investigator of the upcoming study.

A light-activated cancer therapy

Lumox is developing a new generation of precision medicines that combine a tumor-seeking nanobody, a small targeting protein derived from llamas, with a light-activatable drug. The nanobody delivers the medicine to the tumor, where it stays inactive until doctors switch it on with harmless red light. The drug works exactly where and when it is needed, killing cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue untouched.

The technology builds on more than ten years of research in the group of Dr. Sabrina Oliveira at Utrecht University, supported over the years by KWF and Alpe d’HuZes. With this new investment, KWF is backing the crucial next step: a Phase I/IIa study at UMC Utrecht that will assess the safety, feasibility, and optimal dosing of the therapy in patients with head and neck cancer.

The road ahead

“So, are we there yet? Not yet. But we are closer than ever,” the Lumox team says. The remaining steps on the roadmap, including safety studies and regulatory preparation, are defined and within reach. With KWF’s support, a major part of the route towards patients is now covered. Lumox, founded by Dr. Sebas Pronk (CEO) and Dr. Irati Beltrán Hernández (CSO), is now looking for investors and industry partners who want to help take the final steps and bring the technology to the patients who need it most.

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

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The jury, consisting of Marsha Goei (co-founder of Breeze), Martijn Starre (Rabobank), Dirk Schraven (Erasmus MC), and Tamara Elmore (V.O. Patents & Trademarks), chose Lumox as the winner out of a field of strong startups.

Next to the cash prize, Lumox won a trip to the United States with access to the Tim Draper ecosystem in Silicon Valley, where the team will connect with founders and investors behind the next generation of innovative companies.

“Real impact? Once we bring this to patients”

For the Utrecht-based company, the award is recognition rather than a finish line. Lumox is developing a new generation of cancer medication that stays inactive in the body until it is activated at the tumor site, precisely when and where doctors want, allowing for higher dosing with improved safety and effectiveness.

“Does this mean we’ve made a difference? Absolutely not,” the team says. “Real impact comes once we bring this to the patients who need it most.”

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

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Under the headline “Zij maakt kankermedicatie zonder bijwerkingen” (“She makes cancer medication without side effects”), the FD interview tells the story behind both the science and the person. Irati’s path into cancer research started early, when she experienced the disease up close at a young age. That moment didn’t turn into a “sad story,” as she says herself, but it became the starting point of a decade-long scientific journey focused on one question: can we treat cancer without harming the rest of the body?

“We make only the tumor sensitive to light”

At Lumox, Irati and her team are developing a cancer therapy that works differently from existing treatments. It is built around two safety mechanisms. Unlike chemotherapy or radiotherapy, it does not cause side effects such as hair loss or nausea, because the drug specifically targets the tumor and leaves healthy tissue untouched. The drug itself is inactive and only becomes effective when activated by light, locally and precisely. As Irati puts it in the article: “We make only the tumor sensitive to light.”

For now, Lumox is starting with head and neck cancer, where surgery can be life-altering and where light can be applied exactly where it is needed.

The science works. The idea is clear. Now comes the exciting part: building, scaling, and turning this into something that actually reaches patients. The full interview appeared in the FD magazine of February 7th.

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

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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

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One of the biggest steps in developing a new cancer medicine is proving that it can be made at a larger scale. Without that proof, no matter how promising the science, patients will never see it.

“We want to get ready to use our medicine in patients,” says co-founder Dr. Sebas Pronk. “This will still take some time, but obtaining proof-of-concept that our medicine can be produced on a larger scale is essential. The Biotech Booster programme makes this possible.”

From the lab bench to the clinic

With the Biotech Booster support, the Lumox team will improve the production process of its medicine in preparation for human trials, conduct in vitro toxicity and pharmacology studies, and perform efficacy testing. The therapy, Rapid PhotoTherapy, combines tumor-seeking nanobodies with a light-activated drug: after injection, the medicine automatically finds the tumor, where harmless light switches it on to destroy cancer cells while preserving the surrounding tissue.

From the lab bench, to cats with cancer, and eventually to patients: every step brings Lumox closer to what matters most, treating cancer without the devastating side effects.

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

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Cristianne is no stranger to building biotech companies and translating promising science into real medicines. As founder and CSO of Cristal Therapeutics, she helped take the company’s technology from its origins in academic research at Utrecht University through development and into Phase II clinical trials.

That experience is highly relevant to Lumox as we move into our next chapter. We have spent years developing the science behind Selective PhotoTherapy. Now comes the challenge of turning that science into a medicine that can reach patients.

Experience for the next chapter

With Cristianne joining as co-founder and CDO, Lumox adds deep experience in drug development, clinical translation and building biotech companies.

Together, the three founders bring complementary expertise: from inventing and developing the technology to translating it into a clinical programme and building the company behind it.

The science is there. Now, with the right team in place, it is time to take the next steps.

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

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