Teitur Trophics’ €2 million Eurostars project
Teitur Trophics (Denmark) develops novel therapeutics for treating or preventing neurodegenerative diseases. In the final Eurostars round of 2024, their project ‘RE-HEAR’ was awarded ~€1 million from Eurostars to advance TT-H01, a novel peptide-based therapeutic targeting hidden hearing loss (HHL) and age-related hearing loss (ARHL). We are proud to have supported Teitur Trophics towards this momentous Eurostars award. To learn more about their project, we heard from Anders Dalby, Co-Founder and CSO.
“Catalyze has played a crucial role in the overall application process by offering valuable insights on project plans and effectively managing timelines to ensure timely delivery of material from all of the partners involved. Their efforts significantly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.”
– Anders Dalby, CSO & Cofounder at Teitur Trophics
Addressing a global crisis in sensorineural hearing loss
In RE-HEAR, Teitur Trophics are collaborating with project partners, CILcare (France) and the School of Life Sciences at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) to develop a breakthrough regenerative peptide therapy to cure patients with sensorineural hearing loss. HHL and ARHL are a rapidly growing crisis, affecting over 466 million people globally. HHL presents as difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, while ARHL manifests as gradual hearing decline.
Hearing loss is strongly linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, with untreated cases increasing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. However, no curative treatment exists due to a limited understanding of their pathophysiology and complex treatment pathways.
Anders explains the breakthrough nature of their approach:
“At Teitur Trophics we have discovered a novel approach for activating neurotrophic factor-signals through the SorCS2-receptor pathway. Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) have shown great promise in regenerating synaptic connections however due to challenges with effective delivery of these molecules to the inner-ear and the many multifaceted actions of NTFs, no treatments have yet reached clinical practise.
“Through a novel understanding of SorCS2’s role in neurotrophic signalling cascades, we have discovered a unique approach for only targeting the positive effects elicited by NTFs and thereby circumventing any unwanted side effects. This can be mediated with novel peptides which effectively can be delivered to the ear.”
RE-HEAR is made possible by Eurostars funding
With ~€1 million funding from Eurostars towards the €2 million RE-HEAR, Teitur Trophics and partners are aiming to advance peptide candidates through preclinical proof-of-concept studies. The project will run for 36 months, commencing in April 2025. Complimenting Teitur Trophics’ expertise in developing novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease, CILcare has developed auditory testing platforms that will be deployed in RE-HEAR, while FHNW have extensive capabilities in developing neurodegenerative disease models.
Anders comments on the importance of the awarded funding:
“The funding is critically important for validating this novel approach for treating hearing loss. The grant will enable us to develop and evaluate the efficacy in several preclinical models and further help understand the effective dose for patients.
“In addition, we will explore several opportunities for delivery routes to induce these positive effects in the inner ear. Together, this comprehensive data package will position the peptide candidate for final preclinical safety evaluations prior to initiating clinical trials.”
Teitur Trophics’ collaboration with Catalyze towards their Eurostars award
Catalyze provided support through the application process towards the development of the RE-HEAR Eurostars proposal. We are proud of our successful collaboration towards bringing this project to life.
Anders reflects on the collaboration with Catalyze:
“Catalyze has played a crucial role in the overall application process by offering valuable insights on project plans and effectively managing timelines to ensure timely delivery of material from all of the partners involved. Their efforts significantly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.”
What is the Eureka Eurostars programme?
The Eureka Eurostars programme funds international R&D projects led by innovative SMEs. It helps businesses collaborate with partners from other countries to develop new products, services, or technologies. The programme provides public funding, allowing companies to share costs, reduce development risks, build international partnerships, and access new markets faster. Funding is provided by national funding bodies and the European Commission, but businesses receive the money directly from their national agency. Each country sets its own funding rules and supported activities. National coordinators also offer guidance and support throughout the project.
About Catalyze
At Catalyze we commit ourselves to accelerate innovations that have a positive impact on the world. We are the driving force for innovations across the fields of Life Sciences and Sustainability. Our offering of strategic consulting services, funding consulting, project management and more, deliver impactful expertise for all development stages. With a recognised track record and the highest quality and success rate in the industry, we aim to be the consulting partner of choice to drive the success of meaningful innovation projects.
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