Epitherapeutics gets funding

Copenhagen, Denmark-based Epitherapeutics Aps has received funding from two of the leading Danish life science investor groups, Novo A/S and SEED Capital Denmark to advance the discovery and development of new cancer treatments by leveraging breakthroughs in the field of Epigenetics.

Epigenetics describes the chemical modifications and mechanisms affecting the way DNA is packaged within the cell's nucleus. These processes are master regulators that enable gene expression to be turned on and off to maintain normal cellular function. During recent years, it has become clear that epigenetic control mechanisms do not function properly in cancer and some metabolic diseases, including diabetes. The field of Epigenetics focuses on the discovery of novel therapeutics that target these epigenetic mechanisms to selectively regulate their activity. In the case of cancer, this could result in new drugs that shut down deadly tumor growth by a novel, epigenetic mechanism of action, the firm says.