Dortmund, Germany, March 17, 2026 – iDEL Therapeutics today announced the closing of a EUR 9 million seed financing, establishing its operations and leadership team. The company is pioneering a pipeline of cancer therapeutics that are delivered directly into the cytosol of tumor cells. iDEL’s new approach is compatible with both large and small molecules and aims to unlock historically undruggable intracellular targets and broaden therapeutic windows across cancer indications. The financing was led by BiomedVC with participation from NRW.Venture, Gründerfonds Ruhr and the KHAN Technology Transfer Fund II.
The proceeds will be used to advance iDEL Therapeutics’ two proprietary lead programs towards clinical evaluation. Leveraging different modalities with the potential to address a range of solid tumors, the pipeline candidates are based on the company’s proprietary shuttling technology. This pan-cancer platform enables evasion of endosomal entrapment and prevents subsequent degradation of the transported compound, a factor that can impair drug delivery and treatment efficacy, particularly for large molecules such as antibodies and their derivatives.
“iDEL Therapeutics’ concept to unlock new cancer treatments represents an exciting new opportunity with the potential to significantly impact the oncology landscape,” said Marcus Kostka, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of iDEL Therapeutics. “Our technology’s broad applicability to a range of drug classes harbors the potential to improve treatment outcomes for patients living with a range of high-need cancer indications. Together with the leadership team, I look forward to expanding our preclinical proof-of-concept data, advancing our lead candidates toward the clinic and exploring additional possibilities for improved cancer treatments.”
Concurrent with the financing, iDEL Therapeutics announced its leadership team which combines decades of expertise in biopharma, drug development and company building.
“Despite continuous advancements and a deeper understanding of cancer in our industry, current treatment options still face challenges related to on-target specificity and achieving a durable anti-tumor effect,” said Aristotelis Nastos, PhD, Managing Partner and Investment Director at BiomedVC. “We believe that iDEL Therapeutics’ differentiated strategy has the potential to address these limitations by improving intracellular delivery, increasing target engagement and prolonging tumor retention. With an exceptional leadership team and a cutting-edge technology, the company is well positioned to advance this new therapeutic approach to deliver meaningful clinical benefit for cancer patients, and we fully support the team on this journey.”
About iDEL Therapeutics
iDEL Therapeutics’ pioneering pipeline delivers drug payloads directly into the cytosol of tumor cells in patients, leveraging a unique pan-cancer uptake mechanism that achieves high intracellular drug exposure and sustained tumor retention. Our synthetic shuttle technology platform evades endosomal trapping and is compatible with both large and small molecules, including nanobodies against oncogenes and tumor-targeted cytotoxic payloads. We are focused on advancing our pipeline towards the clinic and creating scalable value through partnerships. Our mission is to transform the cancer treatment paradigm by unlocking historically undruggable intracellular targets, broadening therapeutic windows, and increasing treatment flexibility for expanded patient benefit across cancer indications.
Find more information at www.idel-tx.com.
About BiomedVC
BiomedVC is a leading Swiss early-stage VC at the center of European biotech. BiomedVC builds companies around the most intriguing innovations. We strive to enable founders and their ideas. We work together on a basis of equality - as a team and with entrepreneurs. We focus on scientific excellence, building strong companies to create medical and commercial value and bring new medicines to market that improve patient’s lives.
About NRW.Venture
NRW.Venture is the venture capital fund of NRW.BANK. In this way, the promotional bank for North Rhine-Westphalia responds to the scarce supply of financing for young, innovative and often technology-oriented companies, which often do not have sufficient access to loans. Their main asset is a new market idea – which is why their chances of success are often difficult to assess. Together with private-sector investors, NRW.Venture invests up to 15 million euros of equity in such start-ups over several financing rounds – typically from the second round onwards – with NRW.BANK taking a minority stake with a term of three to seven years. But the Bank not only provides capital – an experienced team is the key to joint success. NRW.Venture’s investment professionals have many years of venture capital experience, often complemented by technology and start-up experience, and use their expertise and network to ensure that start-ups have the best chances of success.
About Gründerfonds Ruhr
Gründerfonds Ruhr is a private venture capital investor backing technology driven startups across various industries. As a fund, we are committed to support ambitious founders from day one in building companies that drive meaningful innovation and change, with a particular focus on the Ruhr area. We provide capital, entrepreneurial expertise and industry access needed for emerging startups to reach commercial success. To complement this, we work closely with a broad network of leading international companies and investors.
Further information on the Gründerfonds Ruhr can be found at www.gruenderfonds-ruhr.com
About KHAN Technology Transfer Fund II (KHAN-II)
KHAN-II is an early-stage life sciences venture fund focused on first-in-class therapies for high unmet medical needs, partnering with academic innovators across Europe. Managed by Khanu Fondsverwaltung GmbH, a world-class drug discovery team, it leverages unique access to Max Planck and leading European research, and utilizes the Lead Discovery Center GmbH for effective drug development. KHAN-II is backed by the European Investment Fund (InvestEU Equity and ERP-EIF Facility), Akros Pharma, Max Planck Foundation, and Thyssen’sche Handelsgesellschaft.
Further information at: info@khanu.de
Contact
info@idel-tx.com
+49 231 292927-00
Media requests
Trophic Communications
Marie Weickert, PhD / Adolfo Luna
+49 151 598 624 18 / +49 151 626 743 95
iDEL@trophic.eu
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