The process of curing cancer involves multiple complex steps, but current research indicates positive progress. In fact, one Missouri Innovation Center (MIC) client, Endevica Bio, has made great advancements in the cancer treatment space. The company’s latest biotech drug addresses cachexia, a potentially life-threatening wasting disease that can make cancer recovery challenging — or even impossible — for patients.
Statistics from the Cleveland Clinic indicate that 40% to 70% of cancer patients experience cachexia, a condition causing rapid weight loss that weakens the body’s ability to fight disease and reduces treatment effectiveness. As a result, patients experience the same longevity they could achieve if they maintained a healthier weight throughout their cancer journeys.
To provide possible relief from cachexia, Endevica Bio is working on a peptide therapeutic drug designed to combat cachexia. Currently called TCMCB07, the drug is entering a Phase 2 clinical trial in 2025. Per a 2024 press release, the trial will test the efficacy of TCMCB07 on 100 individuals with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
In the release discussing the upcoming trial, Russell Potterfield, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chair of Endevica Bio, exhibited great confidence and enthusiasm around the promise of the drug. In expressing his optimism, Potterfield said, “We are excited to offer hope to patients and their families to address a condition for which there are no effective treatments available. We believe that B07 could be the breakthrough solution and are excited to begin enrolling patients in our trial.”
Indeed, Endevica Bio is a rising star in the biopharmaceutical world, as evidenced by a $10 million Series B funding deal in 2023. However, like all emerging companies, Endevica Bio began as an unknown startup looking to make its mark. And the MIC was there to provide a path for it to grow, innovate, and impact the life sciences market.
More Than a Mere Workspace
Looking back on the early years of Endevica Bio, Potterfield agrees that MIC was pivotal to the company’s development. “Endevica Bio would not exist but for MIC,” said Potterfield. “We needed access to lab animals and oversight as well as institutional care and use.” He noted that the original founder required a lab capable of running high-pressure liquid chromatography equipment and individuals with technical expertise, both of which the MIC provided, along with the guidance and support to build a successful company and team.
The original founding team of Endevica Bio benefited from comprehensive support from the outset, encompassing resources within the incubator and expertise from the business school. Potterfield noted that understanding the business aspect of being a startup is particularly critical in the biotech industry. As he explained, there’s a “collision between science and business” that often needs to be ironed out in startup biotechs. “Trying to teach a senior scientist how to think in a business way requires that level of mentorship that MIC’s been able to provide.”
Endevica Bio spent the first six years at the MIC, taking full advantage of the benefits inherent in the incubator’s ecosystem. Potterfield credits MIC for helping the company garner early financial support from Centennial Investor Angel Network, which leveraged additional funding from the Missouri Technology Corporation. The MIC also proved to be a valuable resource for talent acquisition. “I know that we were able to pick up a really fantastic MBA graduate,” recalled Potterfield.
Success at the MIC and Beyond
Eventually, Endevica Bio began to expand beyond the MIC, which Potterfield views as a natural progression for startups that gain momentum. As he points out, entrepreneurs establish a set of outcomes they want to see, and then move toward those outcomes — in the case of Endevica Bio, the advancement was steady.
Endevica Bio’s headquarters eventually moved to the Chicago area, a decision its leadership made after the business had established itself as a late-stage startup. Though the company still maintains a presence within the incubator. “The business evolved to become a full-blown company taking a pharmaceutical to market,” said Potterfield. “We still have a small space [at the MIC], but we no longer do any technical work ourselves. We outsource.”
Regarding the company’s future, Potterfield anticipates bringing its products to pharmacies and hospitals. “I think that we are going to commercialize the molecules that came out of MIC and follow [the same process] from there.”
To be sure, Endevica Bio is capitalizing on its initial innovations and findings. Thanks to the company’s cachexia research, its team has been able to start looking at a new drug that can help patients with obesity. The weight management drug, 710GO, is currently in an experimental phase, undergoing studies on animal populations to assess its potential.
A legacy of startup support
From providing life science startup founders a place to launch their dreams to introducing them to angel investing opportunities, the MIC enables companies like Endevica Bio to make a difference. While not every startup aims to develop solutions for conditions like cancer, the opportunity for startups to test their viability is essential. And the MIC is the right partner for many of them.
Potterfield calls the MIC’s work “just fantastic” and intends to have an ongoing relationship with the incubator. “It’s a great ecosystem to launch businesses in,” he concluded.
