UK-based biotech Theolytics, a specialist in oncolytic immunotherapies, has been awarded EUR 8 million (USD 9.3 million) in non-dilutive grant funding from Horizon Europe 2025, the European Union’s research and innovation funding program. The award, pending final negotiation, will support the Phase II expansion of the company’s OCTOPOD-IV clinical trial evaluating Theolytics THEO-260, an engineered oncolytic virus candidate, in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
Two-thirds of the funds will be received directly by Theolytics to advance the OCTOPOD-IV Phase IIa expansion trial, with the remaining third distributed to clinical and translational partner centers involved in the study. These partners include the University of Navarra and the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Spain, Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and The Institute of Cancer Research in London. The funding is expected to support enrolment of up to 20 patients in the expansion cohort, the company said.
THEO-260 is designed to selectively infect and lyse both cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts while inducing immune activation within the tumor microenvironment. The OCTOPOD-IV trial (NCT06618235) is a first-in-human, multi-center study assessing safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy in patients with high-grade serous ovarian or endometrioid cancer. Recruitment is ongoing at UK and Spanish sites and will expand into additional centers in Spain and Canada. A second trial, OCTOPOD-IP (NCT07211659), investigating intraperitoneal delivery of THEO-260, has been initiated in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Preclinical pipeline programs include candidates for colorectal cancer and hematological malignancies.
Theolytics’ platform is built on a group B adenovirus (Ad11) backbone engineered using synthetic biology to carry immunomodulatory transgenes expressed selectively within tumors. The technology originated in the laboratory of Professor Leonard Seymour and Dr Kerry Fisher at the University of Oxford’s Department of Oncology. The company was founded in 2017 as a spinout from the university, with intellectual property licensed through Oxford University Innovation. CEO David Apelian leads the company. Co-founder and CSO Margaret Duffy has overseen the clinical translation of the platform.
Theolytics previously raised GBP 22 million (USD 29.4 million) in a Series A financing round announced in March 2024. Existing backers include Taiho Ventures, M Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, Epidarex Capital, Sound Bioventures, BGF, and Oxford University Innovation. No licensing or out-licensing agreements have been publicly disclosed.