QTM BioSciences

At QTM BioSciences (hereinafter ‘QTM’) we are revolutionizing drug development by addressing one of the most pressing challenges in modern drug development: reaching intracellular drug targets. Nowadays, 71% of all drug targets are located inside cells. In contrast to traditional drug-targets located outside the cell, which can be easily reached, their intracellular counterparts are harder to reach. Improving subcellular drug availability is mainly hampered by the absence of methods to quantify a drug’s subcellular distribution. This contributed to more than 4.100 promising disease targets left without therapy. QTM provides the solution as we developed a validated technology to quantify a drug’s subcellular distribution.

To do so, we use a two-step approach. First, we quickly isolate the cellular compartments, called organelles, using our proprietary tag. This tag is based on a lock and key principle, where the organelles are expressing the key, and a surface is carrying the lock. Upon interaction of the key and lock, the organelles get immobilized to a surface and can be separated from a cellular homogenate in only five minutes. Second, we use a proprietary sampling method to quantify the unbound drug concentration in the cytosol and the organelle interiors, as this represents the fraction which is able to react with intracellular targets (i.e., the subcellular bioavailable fraction).

Comprehensive validation studies have been secured with three top tier pharma companies, planned for Q4 2024. Our technology can be tailored to each phase of the drug development chain to provide confidence throughout the process: from lead optimization to clinical phase. Further scalability is accomplished by offering our technology as a kit-based product, which will provide us with economies of scale while it offers the customer the flexibility to apply our technology in-house. QTM’s developments are driven by our team having over 15-years scientific experience in this field and almost 9 years’ experience with technology transfer and start-ups, including positions at international renown institutes like the University of Cambridge. So, if you are ready to join us on our mission to unlock the clinical potential of drugs with an intracellular target, we would be very interested to discuss the opportunities.