Laigo Bio gains seed funding to advance membrane-protein degraders

Dutch biotech Laigo Bio has launched with 11.5 million euros ($12.7 million) in seed financing to progress its SureTAC membrane-protein degradation platform. The funding will support oncology programs across PD-L1, VEGF and a Wnt-pathway receptor, while speeding discovery work on three immunology candidates for autoimmune and graft-rejection settings.

The company confirmed Matthew Baker as chief executive officer. Dr Baker said: “This seed funding is a strong endorsement of both the scientific foundation and the unique potential of our approach enabling selective degradation of membrane-bound targets involved in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.”

SureTAC molecules are bispecific antibodies that bring disease-driving surface proteins into proximity with an E3 ligase to trigger internalisation and degradation. The platform targets membrane proteins often labelled “undruggable”, offering deep pathway inhibition and potential safety benefits through selective activity in diseased tissue.