Oncomatryx Secures EU Funding to Advance Antibody-Drug Conjugate Platform

The EIC Accelerator call attracted 959 applicants from across Europe, with only 40 companies selected across 16 countries (Belgian Amphistar within our newsflash is another example of the latest successful EIC selection). Oncomatryx Biopharma S.L. from Bilbao, Spain, was the sole oncology-focused company among this cohort, underlining the strength of its scientific approach in a highly competitive field.

The funding will support further development of Oncomatryx’s lead clinical programme, OMTX705, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) in metastatic immune-cold tumours such as pancreatic, MSS colorectal, and non-small cell lung cancers. The candidate is currently being studied in expansion cohorts of a Phase I clinical trial, following encouraging safety and early efficacy data presented at the 2025 ASCO annual meeting. FAP is a busy target, which many other companies target with an ADC-approach, if you wish to include the radiopharma-ligand technology also to this space. There for example Berlin bases 3BP pharmaceuticals is in phase 1 clinical trial together with partner Novartis.

Back to Oncomatryx’s ADC platform: in 2011 Oncomatryx acquired the Austrian company Tube Pharmaceuticals GmbH (Vienna) which worked on a platform of natural based substances that could be used as news cell toxins. Oncomatryx integrated such proprietary payloads and linker technologies with novel conjugation formats for its own ADC pipeline. The company operates fully integrated discovery, R&D, and conjugation facilities and focuses on exploiting the tumour microenvironment for targeted delivery. This positioning has contributed to growing recognition of the company as one of Europe’s more advanced platforms in the ADC space.

In addition to the EIC funding, Oncomatryx has been identified as a strategic company by both the Spanish central government and the Basque regional administration. Just in January this year, Oncomatryx has successfully raised €25 million, to fund Phase 1b-2 clinical trials of OMTX705, its ADC targeting FAP.

The funding round was led by the company’s existing investors and included a €10 million strategic investment from Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico e Innovacion (CDTI) through its Innvierte co-investment initiative, as well as through direct support from the Basque Government. These contributions reflect broader institutional support for oncology innovation in Spain and a recognition of Oncomatryx’s role in developing treatments for hard-to-treat cancers.

The case of Oncomatryx illustrates the increasing scientific maturity of the Spanish biotech ecosystem (see actual numbers by ASEBIO), which continues to produce high-potential therapeutic platforms in competitive fields such as oncology. As EU and international investors increasingly turn their attention to innovation beyond traditional hubs, Spain’s life sciences sector may be poised for wider recognition.