Introduction:
Glioblastoma (GBM) remains the most aggressive brain tumour, with ~35,000 new cases annually across the US and Europe, a median overall survival of ~15 months, and a five-year survival of ~5%—highlighting the urgency for new treatment options.
Beactica Therapeutics AB (Sweden), together with leading glioblastoma researchers at KU Leuven (Belgium), launched GLIOBREAK to advance BEA-17—Beactica’s wholly owned, first-in-class small-molecule GBM drug candidate—paired with a biomarker-driven companion diagnostic originating from Prof. Frederik De Smet’s research at KU Leuven. The project targets progression from a validated laboratory stage to early clinical readiness, including completion of IND-enabling studies and submission of a regulatory application to either FDA or EMA, positioning BEA-17 for first-in-human clinical trials.
UpSpark is a Poland-based EU funding consultancy that helps innovative companies secure grants and scale breakthrough technologies through high-impact EU programmes, including the EIC Transition.
This case study highlights UpSpark’s collaboration with Beactica and KUL throughout the application process, from shaping the funding strategy, eligibility validation, and consortium structuring, through preparing a compelling EIC Transition application, optimising the workplan and budget, and ensuring the interview readiness—ultimately supporting the project’s successful selection for EIC Transition funding.
Client Profile:
– Client Name: Beactica Therapeutics AB (Coordinator) + KU Leuven
– Industry: Oncology / Pharma
– Location: Sweden / Belgium
– Project Name: GLIOBREAK – developing a new treatment and companion diagnostic to improve outcomes for GBM patients.
– Project Objective: The project seeks to advance BEA-17 and an associated biomarker from TRL4 to TRL6 by delivering a comprehensive package of chemistry, manufacturing, preclinical safety, pharmacology, and biomarker validation, while simultaneously preparing the regulatory and business framework for clinical translation and commercialization.
– Funding Secured: €2.5 million (100% funding rate)
The Challenges:
Even with strong science, GLIOBREAK faced several proposal-related issues typical for late preclinical translational programmes—plus additional complexity stemming from the integrated Rx/CDx ambition. Key challenges included:
1. Finding the right EU funding vehicle for the LSD1 compound: selecting a programme that credibly supports a translational, IND-enabling package while staying consistent with the project’s maturity and scope.
2. Eligibility and fit verification for EIC Transition: ensuring that the proposal scope met EIC Transition requirements (maturing & validating technology while building business and market readiness) and that all formal eligibility aspects were defensible, especially the EIC Transition gatekeepers.
3. Fine-tuning consortium collaboration rules: aligning an industry-led drug development pathway with an academic biomarker/CDx pathway, including governance, IP ownership, data-sharing logic, and exploitation interfaces.
4. Workplan and budget optimisation under EIC Transition frames: converting a complex translational roadmap into a concise, milestone-driven 30-month plan with evaluator-friendly deliverables and a budget structure that fit into the program’s budget cap and clearly justified IND-enabling cost drivers.
5. Preparing the teams for the interview: translating deep immuno-epigenetic science into a sharp, coherent, risk-aware story that withstands panel scrutiny—without overselling and without leaving evidence gaps.
UpSpark’s Approach:
UpSpark supported Beactica and KU Leuven end-to-end, focusing early on locking the concept-call alignment before drafting the proposal. Our approach included:
1. Funding-vehicle selection eligibility verification
Spanning over a 3-year period, we supported Beactica in monitoring the EU funding landscape, verifying feasible funding opportunities, and eventually selecting EIC Transition as a go-to vehicle to pursue. The UpSpark team conducted a structured eligibility review and translated it into proposal-ready logic.
2. Proactive, hands-on approach
Our consulting process was workshop-based: we worked hand-in-hand with the client teams through structured working sessions, iterating fast on content, logic, and evidence, and proactively troubleshooting risks to avoid them turning into evaluator comments. In practice, this meant continuous co-creation of the narrative and the implementation details—ensuring every major claim is backed, every workplan choice is defensible, and every open issue is resolved early.
3. Interview preparation
We prepared the teams to meet the EIC experts and withstand the scrutiny and in-depth questions typical for EIC Transition interviews. Our mock interviews were focused on storytelling, explaining likely challenge points, and aligning the speakers on crisp, consistent answers that remain defensible under detailed panel cross-examination.
The Outcome:
GLIOBREAK secured €2.5 million from the European Innovation Council under EIC Transition, with Beactica and KU Leuven selected as one of only 40 funded projects out of 611 applications—a strong validation of the project’s translational plan and integrated therapeutic–diagnostic strategy.
Client Testimonial:
UpSpark’s expert guidance was instrumental in Beactica and its partner securing a 2.5 MEUR EIC Transition grant. Their deep understanding of EIC and Horizon Europe instruments, strategic proposal design, and clear, structured process helped us sharpen our value proposition and implementation plan. Their team has a broad set of skills and was highly responsive, proactive, and pragmatic throughout. I strongly recommend UpSpark to any innovative company aiming to successfully navigate EU funding opportunities.
Per Källblad, CEO at Beactica Therapeutics AB
Conclusion:
This case study demonstrates UpSpark’s capability to o turn a high-complexity translational oncology concept into a winning EIC Transition proposal, paving the way for a potential breakthrough in glioblastoma treatment—an area with extremely high unmet medical need and persistently poor patient outcomes.
For more information about our services, please visit https://www.upspark.eu or contact us directly at contact@upspark.eu.
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