In the last week of March 2023, YSOTOPE THERANOSTICS, a DeepTech start-up with the mission to improve the use of immunotherapies through medical imaging, became part of the spin-off network of Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) and successfully closed its first investment round of €150,000 with Biozell Ventures, an investment company focused on startups and scaleups in biotech, pharma and healthcare.

It is currently estimated that one in three individuals will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. Because of this, there are several diagnostic and therapeutic approaches emerging to refine and personalise the management of these patients. One such treatment is immunotherapies where the treatment is directed at a biological target that is preferentially expressed by tumour cells to perform its therapeutic function. However, despite their considerable potential, there are still major challenges in their application to optimise the possibilities offered by this type of treatment.

YSOTOPE aims to optimise the use of these treatments through PET imaging. This methodology enables personalised patient selection and optimisation of immunotherapy treatments, with the potential to broaden the spectrum of patients benefiting and improve their clinical outcomes.

YSOTOPE's strategy is based on creating new diagnostic tools from existing immunotherapies. These treatments use antibodies or biosimilars that can be modified by adding radioactive substances, resulting in the creation of radioactive drugs, called radiopharmaceuticals, that target the same biological targets as immunotherapies.

Radiopharmaceuticals function as contrast agents in the patient's body, allowing information about the distribution and concentration of radiopharmaceuticals to be obtained. This information is obtained by medical imaging using PET scanners, a technology widely available in many hospitals. This is a non-invasive technique and has a very high sensitivity for clinical diagnosis at the molecular level. It has therefore become an indispensable diagnostic tool for the development of molecular therapies and personalised diagnostics in cancer and other pathologies.

"ImmunoPET in oncology can be understood as a virtual biopsy where we perform a 3D histological analysis in vivo without the need for invasive procedures on the patient and we have complete information on the heterogeneity of the expression of a biological target in a tumour, and therefore allows us to perform better clinical procedures. This is revolutionising the field of molecular and pharmacological medical imaging in various medical areas and especially in oncology. Companies like YSOTOPE, which offer innovative imaging agents, play a key role in developing and exploiting these opportunities that are shaping the medicine of the future", explains Dr. Raul Herance, head of the Molecular Medical Imaging Group at VHIR and CTO at YSOTOPE.

YSOTOPE and VHIR have established a collaboration strategy that will promote the development of new radiopharmaceuticals, diagnostics and theragnostics, for application in the field of personalised medicine, with a special focus on oncology. VHIR's knowledge and experience will be key in the development and validation of new assets, which will be incorporated and exploited by the company, thus favouring their implementation in clinical practice and generating a direct impact on the quality of life of patients.

Biozell's investment and VHIR's scientific and technical support will allow YSOTOPE to carry out a proof of concept to validate the use of its first radiotracer applied to neuroblastoma, a very aggressive paediatric cancer that affects around 100 new children under 12 years of age every year in Spain. With this support, YSOTOPE positions itself as a key player in the field of personalised and precision oncology, offering innovative solutions that will make a difference in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

About YSOTOPE

YSOTOPE started its activity in April 2022 and it is led by Carlos Langeber and Natalia Benito, experts in the development of DeepTech startups, both founding partners. In May of the same year, the company joined Lanzadera, an organisation specialised in accelerating the growth of startups and promoted by Juan Roig, who after learning about the project decided to invest in it.

So far in 2023, YSOTOPE has begun to be part of the VHIR spin-off network, is developing its first diagnostic radiopharmaceutical and has been selected for the Ship2B Health&Care programme; an initiative specialising in start-ups with an impact on the healthcare sector that will continue the company's acceleration and fundraising work.
YSOTOPE currently has Dr. José Raul Herance, an expert in radiochemistry and molecular imaging, as founding partner and technical director.

"The reception of YSOTOPE by VHIR has been really impressive. Their professionalism and closeness have been fundamental to promote our project jointly, creating synergies and strengthening the collaboration between both entities for the benefit of research and development in the oncology field", explains Carlos Langeber, CEO at YSOTOPE.