Spin-off Flamingo Therapeutics officially launched to develop RNA-targeted therapies for cancer treatment

The research teams of CRIG group leader Prof. Pieter Mestdagh and Prof. Jean-Christophe Marine (VIB-KU Leuven) have been studying the link between long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and cancer for years. In 2016, they published an impressive story in the scientific journal Nature about the lncRNA molecule ‘SAMMSON’, that they found to be crucial for the growth of aggressive skin cancers.

These findings, together with the pioneering research of Professor Arul Chinnaiyan on lncRNAs at the University of Michigan (USA), opened up promising avenues for cancer treatment.

In 2020, VIB, together with Ghent University, KU Leuven, the University of Michigan, and with investors Kurma Partners (FR) and PMV, founded Flamingo Therapeutics to develop innovative cancer therapies based on these insights. Today, Flamingo announced that it has expanded its relationship with US company Ionis Pharmaceuticals to further develop RNA-targeted therapies, an important alliance for the company, and the reason why they are going public today.

Read more in the press release of VIB and in the official Flamingo Tx press release.

Discover an article (in Dutch) about the company in ‘De Tijd’.