TenBoron lands €7.6m EU grant for precision radiotherapy trials in hard-to-treat cancers

The funding will support Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies of the company’s lead candidate, TB0010, in patients with recurrent head and neck cancer, bringing this precision‑focused cancer therapy a step closer to wider clinical use across Europe.

The approach is a form of targeted radiotherapy in which Boron-10 (10B) atoms are selectively delivered to tumour cells and is then activated by low-energy neutron radiation. This releases short‑range particles that destroy cancer cells while largely sparing healthy tissue. TenBoron’s carriers are designed to boost boron concentration in the tumour and minimise exposure elsewhere, which could make the therapy more precise and reduce side effects common in conventional radiation therapy. The company is already running early‑phase human trials to check how much boron reaches the tumour and how the body tolerates it.

The €7.6 million Horizon Europe grant will cover patient recruitment, trial execution and groundwork for multi‑centre studies, with TB0010 given to patients before neutron‑beam irradiation to test how well it homes in on tumours and how safe it is in routine use. If the data look promising, the project could open the door to regulatory submission and broader application in other tumour types beyond recurrent head and neck disease.

Helsinki-based TenBoron is leading a pan‑European consortium that includes the BNCT‑focused research group at the University of Granada in Spain and UK‑based patient organisation The Swallows, which focuses on head and neck cancer.