News

New company builds on first-in-human clinical proof-of-principle and is developing a next-generation, multi-target TEIPP vaccine for immunotherapy-resistant cancers.

Proteins are the targets of many new cancer therapies. By mapping which proteins are present in healthy pediatric tissue, Fabio Marino and Sebastiaan van Heesch hope to better predict the safety of new treatments for childhood cancer before they ever reach a patient. The two Oncode Accelerator-affiliated researchers have been awarded a prestigious KWF grant to build that map.

The Dutch Research Council NWO has awarded a €3.5 million ‘Large-scale Research Infrastructure (LSRI) – Upgrade 2025’ grant to the Netherlands Proteomics Centre (NPC) of Utrecht University. The funding will be used to upgrade the proteomics infrastructure, support operations, and integrate AI-based methodology, ensuring continued breakthroughs in disease research and therapeutic discovery. Some of this infrastructure is also available through Oncode Accelerator.

Treating people with colorectal cancer faster, with the latest therapies. Better tailoring treatments to the individual patient, and preventing unnecessary treatments. That is the future that Jeanine Roodhart, internist oncologist, lead of Oncode Accelerator’s Patient Cohorts Platform, and newly appointed Professor at UMC Utrecht, is working towards. She focuses on colorectal cancer and translational research that directly translates new findings in the laboratory into better care for patients. As of 15 July 2026, Jeanine has been appointed Professor of Translational Medical Oncology at UMC Utrecht.

Today, Oncode Accelerator announced that ExpediteBio, a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating the development, de-risking the progression, and enabling the early clinical validation of innovative antibody-based therapeutics, has joined its Biologics Workstream as a new partner. The collaboration strengthens Oncode Accelerator's ability to move promising anti-cancer antibody-based therapeutics from the lab bench towards first-in-human studies.Nederlandse versie

The Oncode Impact Foundation, a joint initiative of the Oncode Accelerator Foundation and Oncode Institute, launched today. It uses philanthropy to fund the development of new treatment options for cancer patients through the so-called ‘valley of death’: the crucial phase in which promising scientific breakthroughs often falter and fail to reach patients.

How cells communicate and develop is controlled by communication pathways. The so called Wnt signaling pathway plays a central role in almost all childhood liver tumors. Researchers from the Princess Máxima Center and Linköping University in Sweden - supported by Oncode Accelerator, Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij (KiKa) and the Princess Máxima Center Foundation (Kus van Kiki) - have now discovered how this pathway can result in tumor cells with different features within a single tumor. Their findings contribute to better classification of these tumors and, in the future, more tailored treatments.

Oncode Accelerator and Oncode Institute are joining forces with the AI4Health initiative to make healthcare more personalized, sustainable, and innovative by developing, validating, and implementing trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) solutions across the care system.

A group of international researchers has discovered 1,700 new proteins. The research data they collected has been made accessible to other researchers. These are small proteins that may play an important role in cells, for example in the development of diseases such as (childhood) cancer. The researchers hope to quickly learn more about the role of these newly discovered micro‑proteins in the so‑called dark proteome, which they call peptideins. These proteins may offer new leads for future treatments.

On 9th April, Oncode Accelerator announced a new Demonstrator Project supporting innovative research from the Antibody Therapy Group at University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht and JJP Biologics, a Polish biotechnology company. The international team will leverage Oncode Accelerator’s innovation Platforms – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Patient Cohorts, and Organoids – to develop a novel bispecific antibody therapy.

Today, the Oncode Accelerator Foundation announced that Arnoud Huisman will step down as CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors as of 1 April. To further strengthen strategic alignment with Oncode Institute, Bertholt Leeftink, Managing Director of Oncode Institute, has been appointed as the new CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Oncode Accelerator Foundation. Going forward, Bertholt will lead both organizations, which have distinct focus areas within a shared mission.

On February 26th, Oncode Accelerator announced two new Demonstrator Projects supporting women-led biotech companies developing innovative cancer therapies. Loma Therapeutics (Denmark) is advancing a promising immunotherapy against human papilloma virus (HPV)-caused cancers, while Cumulus Oncology (Scotland) is developing a novel small molecule therapy for colorectal cancer.

Omivera, a spin-off company built around the CellEKT chemical proteomics platform, has secured a seed investment from UNIIQ: an investment fund focused on supporting the proof-of-concept phase to help young companies bring their product or technology to market. The CellEKT technology was developed by Omivera CEO Joel Rüegger (Leiden University, Oncode Institute) and colleagues in the lab of Mario van der Stelt (Leiden University, Oncode Institute) in collaboration with Roche, with support from Oncode Accelerator. The seed investment from UNIIQ will support Omivera in continued platform development and commercial rollout, as a newly launched CRO serving pharma and biotech companies worldwide.

During a working visit from the Dutch National Growth Fund to Oncode Accelerator, which took place at Leiden University Medical Center, one central theme emerged: how do we translate investments in innovation and infrastructure in oncology into impact for the economy, science, as well as society?

Utrecht, 12 January 2026Oncode Accelerator and Dutch biotech start-up UPyTher have launched a collaborative Demonstrator Project to develop a new treatment approach for peritoneal metastases — a form of cancer that is particularly difficult to treat. The collaboration aims to make treatment safer, simpler, and more effective for patients who currently have very limited options.