StemTek Selected by European Commission as top innovative SME

BILBAO, Spain - Dec. 12, 2016 - PRLog -- StemTek Therapeutics, a leading Spanish biotech start up, has been selected by the European Commission Horizon 2020 SME Instrument for being one of the top innovative SMEs in its sector. By winning Phase I, StemTek will receive €50.000 in funding and is eligible to participate in Phase II for up to €2.5 million in funding and mentorship.

One of only two Basque companies selected in this call, StemTek Therapeutics is dedicated to closing the gap from lab to market when it comes to breakthrough cancer stem cell research, pharmaceutical drug development and personalized medicine.

According to Angel Garcia Martin, CEO and founder of StemTek, "We are proud of the work we have achieved to be recognized as one of the most innovative SMEs in Europe, more importantly this funding will help us to continue our mission to put an end to cancer relapse. With this grant, our goal is to achieve global reach through the scalable production of ready to use 3D cell culture kits for cancer stem cell oriented drug development."

StemTek Therapeutics focuses on identifying drug compounds that interfere with stem cell self-renewal to prevent unrestrained cell growth and the chemoresistance of malignant tumors. Scientists are searching for compounds that can inhibit cancer stem cell growth while not harming healthy cells during treatment. Developing these targeted drugs will play an important role in creating novel drugs that can counteract cancer stem cell growth. By working with StemTek, pharmaceutical companies can save time and resources by outsourcing early drug discovery to an experienced R&D team that specializes profiling drug compounds for their effect on cancer stem cell populations.

This year the Horizon2020 SME Instrument received over 1,938 project proposals from 40 countries. Of these, the commission hand selected the top 189 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 24 countries for Phase I funding. Companies selected demonstrated high growth, innovation and global ambitions that will disrupt established value networks and existing markets. In total Horizon 2020 will invest € 9.1 million.

ABOUT STEMTEK
Founded in 2013, StemTek is a biotech startup entirely dedicated to cancer stem cell research and drug discovery. StemTek uses 3D cell based assay automated for HTS, allowing the company to test thousands of compounds that target cancer stem cells to stop spheroid formation. 3D cell culture systems allow for stronger, more efficient and reliable drug screening. StemTek collaborates with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate early stage drug screening to develop new anticancer therapies. The company develops Cell2Sphere, a scalable solution for High-throughput screening (HTS) and detection of phenotypic or genetic changes in cancer stem cells. With over thirty years combined experience in molecular and cellular oncology, StemTek's goal is to find treatments that put an end to relapse. Join our fight @StemTekTher or for more information go to: www.stemtektherapeutics.com