BIMINI Biotech awarded Health Holland International Kickstarter grant to advance novel AML therapeutics
Leiden, 18 March 2026 – BIMINI Biotech is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding through the Health~Holland International Kickstarter Call for Public-Private Partnerships 2025 for a collaborative project focused on advancing first-in-class therapeutics for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The international consortium consists of BIMINI Biotech BV (Netherlands, project lead), Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) (Switzerland) with by Prof. Francesco Bertoni and Central University of Punjab (CUP), Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products (India), with by Prof. Raj Kumar
The project has a total budget of €440,000 and aims to further advance BIMINI’s proprietary small-molecule activators of the Wiskott–Aldrich Syndrome Protein (WASp), a novel therapeutic strategy designed to selectively induce apoptosis in leukemic cells.
Acute myeloid leukemia remains one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat blood cancers. Despite the availability of targeted therapies, chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation remain the primary treatment options for many patients, and relapse rates remain high. Long-term survival is limited, particularly among older patients, highlighting the urgent need for new therapeutic approaches with novel mechanisms of action.
BIMINI has already identified early lead compounds with low-nanomolar activity in AML cell models and demonstrated in vivo proof-of-concept in AML mouse models. The newly funded project will focus on lead optimization, validation in relapse/refractory AML models, and identification of predictive biomarkers for patient stratification.
Dr. Digvijay Gahtory, CEO of BIMINI Biotech:
“This project is particularly meaningful to me as it brings together partners across Europe and India to tackle one of the most challenging blood cancers. It also allows us to extend our successful collaboration with the Institute of Oncology Research following our Eurostars project, while building a new partnership with Prof. Kumar’s group at the Central University of Punjab. By combining expertise in medicinal chemistry and translational oncology, we can accelerate the development of our WASp-targeting therapeutics for leukemia”
Prof. Francesco Bertoni, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oncology Research:
“We are grateful for the support of the Health~Holland International Kickstarter grant, which will allow us to continue advancing WASp as a novel therapeutic approach against cancer. This funding also enables us to extend our research into acute leukemias in close collaboration with our colleagues at BIMINI Biotech and with Prof. Kumar ”.
Prof. Raj Kumar, Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products at the Central University of Punjab:
“I am excited to collaborate with BIMINI Biotech and the Institute of Oncology Research on this project to advance first-in-class therapies for acute myeloid leukemia. This partnership strengthens scientific Europe-India research collaboration and reflects the Central University of Punjab’s commitment to impactful cancer drug discovery”
Through this collaboration, the AML-WASP consortium aims to deliver a new class of targeted therapeutics addressing an important unmet need in leukemia treatment and pave the way for future clinical development.
The collaboration project LSHI25007 is co-funded by PPP Allowance awarded by Health Holland to stimulate public-private partnerships.
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ABOUT BIMINI
BIMINI Biotech is a preclinical stage company developing novel first-in-class small molecule therapeutics in oncology with a focus on lymphomas and leukemia, malignancies with a strong unmet need. The company was established in 2019 and is based in Leiden (The Netherlands).
ABOUT IOR
The Institute of Oncology Research, established in 2003 in Bellinzona (Switzerland), hosts researchers from all over the world performing basic and translational research in oncology with special focus on cancer biology, genomics, and experimental therapeutics. The IOR is affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and is located in a brand-new high-tech research building that hosts more than 20 different research groups, with state-of-the-art labs and facilities. IOR is committed to discover practical and far-reaching solutions to target tumor cells to ultimately improve the outcome of people affected by cancer.
ABOUT CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB
The Central University of Punjab (CUP) is a public research university (in top 100 NIRF-University category) in Bathinda, India, with strong programs in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, and natural product research. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products focuses on drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, and translational pharmaceutical research, combining synthetic chemistry with modern analytical and computational approaches. The department has established expertise in the design and development of bioactive small molecules and collaborates internationally on projects aimed at advancing novel therapeutic strategies.