Lipum has signed the grant agreement for BEYOND, a project selected by Horizon Europe under the call “Boosting the translation of biotech research into innovative health therapies”. The project has been awarded a total grant of approximately EUR 8 million, of which Lipum’s share is approximately EUR 5.5 million. The funding will support the continued clinical development of SOL-116, including a planned Phase IIa proof-of-concept study in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The project will be led by Lipum and carried out in collaboration with a European consortium consisting of Age Labs AS, Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) and MERAccess AB. Together, the partners bring expertise in clinical development, biomarker analysis, health economics and market access.
BEYOND is designed to generate clinical proof-of-concept data for SOL-116 in RA and to strengthen the scientific and health-economic evidence needed to support further development.
“We are very pleased to have signed the Horizon Europe grant agreement for BEYOND and to take the next step in the clinical development of SOL-116 together with our partners. This support is a very important recognition of the project and its potential for patients with RA. I would like to thank the European Commission, our partners Age Labs, CHDR and MERAccess, and all our employees for making this possible,” says Ola Sandborgh, CEO of Lipum.
With the BEYOND funding in place, Lipum is now positioned to take SOL-116 into its next important clinical stage and further explore its potential as a new treatment option for RA.
SOL-116 is being developed for chronic inflammatory diseases and is based on a novel approach that selectively targets Bile Salt-Stimulated Lipase (BSSL), a protein implicated in inflammatory processes. In a completed First-in-Human Phase I trial, SOL-116 demonstrated robust results, including a favorable safety profile, predictable pharmacokinetics supporting once-monthly dosing, low immunogenicity and confirmed target engagement.
These results provide a solid foundation for the planned Phase IIa proof-of-concept study, where the efficacy of SOL-116 will be evaluated in a clinically relevant RA setting.