New KU Leuven spin-off targets root cause of rare bleeding disorder
Hemastatx, a recently established spin-off from KU Leuven, has developed a revolutionary therapy that addresses the underlying cause of a severe bleeding disorder. It is the first company to propose a treatment capable of correcting defects in von Willebrand factor, a key protein involved in blood clotting. Following a recent round of seed funding, Hemastatx will now accelerate the development of its therapeutic platform.
Founded earlier this year, Hemastatx builds on over a decade of research by the Laboratory for Thrombosis Research at KU Leuven Kulak in Kortrijk, Belgium. The company is targeting patients who suffer from a malfunction of the von Willebrand factor (vWF), which plays a critical role in stopping bleeding by helping blood platelets adhere to damaged vessel walls.
When vWF is defective or degraded too rapidly, patients are at high risk of spontaneous and potentially life-threatening internal bleeding, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract. Globally, it is estimated that 100,000 people are hospitalised each year due to bleeding associated with such disorders.
Tackling disease mechanism
Current treatments mainly focus on managing symptoms through blood transfusions, plasma products or endoscopic interventions. Hemastatx takes a fundamentally different approach by tackling the disease mechanism itself.
"Our novel antibody therapy binds to and inhibits ADAMTS13, a 'molecular scissor' that tightly controls the size and function of von Willebrand factor,' explains Dr Kevin Hollevoet, CEO and co-founder of Hemastatx. 'In our target patient population, ADAMTS13 is excessively active, breaking down von Willebrand factor prematurely and disabling its clotting function. By blocking ADAMTS13, our antibody preserves von Willebrand factor (vWF) activity, restores haemostasis, and halts bleeding episodes.”
International backing
The spin-off recently secured its first investment round from an international group of backers. These include BaseLaunch (a Swiss biotech accelerator), the Butterfly Fund (affiliated with the Walloon investment company Sambrinvest) and KU Leuven’s own seed capital fund, the Gemma Frisius Fund.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration of the main components of blood plasma, the liquid component of blood. © SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY RF
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