Cytovation

What Cytovation does

Cytovation ASA is a privately held, clinical-stage immune-oncology company headquartered in Bergen, Norway, founded in 2008 as a spin-off from the University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital. The company is developing a single lead asset, CY-101 (INN: getacatetide; formerly CyPep-1), a first-in-class synthetic peptide immunotherapy with a dual mechanism of action: it selectively targets and disrupts cancer cell membranes through pore formation, releasing tumor neoantigens to stimulate a systemic immune response, while simultaneously inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin oncogenic pathway to reverse immune exclusion and restrict tumor growth. The technology is positioned for solid tumors driven by aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which accounts for approximately 20% of all solid tumors and up to 90% in certain cancer types. The lead indication is adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), where CY-101 has FDA Orphan Drug Designation; additional indications in development include colorectal cancer (Phase 2 in combination with tislelizumab), with prior exploration of HNSCC, TNBC, melanoma, and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

Cytovation operates as a pre-revenue, venture-backed biotech with a lean team of 1–10 employees, having raised over $34M across Series A rounds led by Sandwater and Canica (2022, 2023, 2025). Its go-to-market model centers on advancing clinical-stage development through partnerships with cancer research organizations and pharmaceutical companies — most notably Cancer Research UK and the Norwegian Cancer Society (Phase 2 ACC trial), MSD (KEYTRUDA combination trials via the CICILIA program), and BeOne Medicines (tislelizumab supply for the planned CRC Phase 2). Future revenue is expected to derive from pharmaceutical product sales, licensing, or royalty arrangements upon regulatory approval, with regulatory exclusivity provided by the FDA Orphan Drug Designation in ACC. Clinical milestones to date include enrollment of 57 patients in the CICILIA Phase 1/2 solid-tumor basket trial, disease control rate of 50% in ACC monotherapy patients, and no dose-limiting toxicities in Phase 1 dose-escalation.

The company's strategic posture combines academic-spinout rigor with pharma-grade commercial readiness: its board and advisors include former senior executives from ReNeuron, Clavis Pharma, UCB, Novartis, Schering-Plough, Werewolf Therapeutics, and McKinsey's global life sciences practice. Distribution and clinical operations span Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, France, and Spain, with planned US expansion via an active IND. The asset has received both a WHO-approved nonproprietary name and an FDA Orphan Drug Designation, and the company has presented data at ESMO 2024 and AACR 2025.

Name

Cytovation

Legal name

Cytovation ASA

Website

https://cytovation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cytovation is a Norwegian clinical-stage biotech developing CY-101 (getacatetide), a first-in-class synthetic peptide immunotherapy with a dual mechanism for solid tumors driven by Wnt/β-catenin signaling, serving oncology patients with adrenocortical carcinoma, colorectal cancer, and other hard-to-treat cancers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cancer Immunotherapy

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy) (HLAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Cancer immunotherapy
• Peptide therapeutics
• Clinical stage biotech
• Immune-oncology pipeline
• Wnt pathway oncology

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Drug Development Pipeline: Pre-revenue clinical stage biotech company. Revenue will be generated through pharmaceutical product sales upon regulatory approval. Company is developing CY-101/getacatetide for treatment of solid tumors, initially focusing on adrenocortical carcinoma with expansion potential into colorectal cancer and other Wnt/β-catenin driven cancers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cytovation is a clinical-stage biotech developing CY-101 (getacatetide), a first-in-class synthetic peptide immunotherapy with a dual mechanism that disrupts cancer cell membranes and inhibits the Wnt/β-catenin oncogenic pathway. The company advances the asset through clinical trials targeting solid tumors, with an initial focus on adrenocortical carcinoma and expansion potential into colorectal cancer and other Wnt/β-catenin-driven cancers.

Product overview

Cytovation is a clinical-stage immune-oncology company developing a single lead candidate, CY-101 (also known as getacatetide and formerly CyPep-1), a first-in-class bifunctional synthetic peptide immunotherapy. CY-101 operates through a dual mechanism of action: it selectively targets and disrupts cancer cell membranes to release tumor neoantigens, while simultaneously inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin oncogenic pathway. The company is advancing CY-101 through multiple clinical programs including the completed CICILIA Phase I/IIa trial and an upcoming Phase 2 trial in adrenocortical carcinoma in partnership with Cancer Research UK and the Norwegian Cancer Society, with additional trials planned for colorectal cancer in combination with checkpoint inhibitors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CY-101 (getacatetide) First-in-class bifunctional synthetic peptide immunotherapy with a dual mode of action that selectively targets and disrupts cancer cell membranes while inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, designed for patients with solid tumors driven by aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
• CICILIA Trial Phase I/IIa clinical trial program evaluating CY-101 monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors, demonstrating early signs of antitumor activity in Wnt/β-catenin-driven cancers.
• Phase 2 ACC Trial

Quantifiable outcome

• Disease control rate of 50% (n=3/6) observed in adrenocortical carcinoma patients receiving CY-101 monotherapy, with durable responses (>6 months) in two patients.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BeOne MedicinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Clinical supply agreement for tislelizumab (TEVIMBRA) to support Phase 2 study evaluating getacatetide in combination with PD-1 inhibitor in metastatic colorectal cancer with liver metastases.
• Luxembourg Institute of HealthminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2025Collaborative research on CY-101 mechanism of action. Preclinical studies conducted in immune-refractory models of ACC, colorectal carcinoma and melanoma presented at AACR 2025.
• Cancer Research UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2025Cancer Research UK's Centre for Drug Development will sponsor, design and deliver Phase 2 trial in adrenocortical carcinoma. Trial to be conducted at sites across UK and Europe. Cancer Research Horizons manages the commercial relationship.
• Norwegian Cancer SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2025Providing co-funding and access to additional resources, patients and sites for the ACC Phase 2 trial. Support enabled access to Norwegian patient population and research network.
• Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation (RRPF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2022Collaboration to advance development of CyPep-1 for treatment of Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis, a rare neoplastic disease caused by HPV. Foundation provides expertise and network for Phase I/II study preparation.
• MSD (Merck)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2021Clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement to evaluate CyPep-1 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, triple negative breast cancer, and melanoma. Ongoing collaboration as part of CICILIA trial program.
• Centre for Human Drug Research (Leiden, Netherlands)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 29 May 2020Clinical trial site for Phase I study of CyPep-1 in HPV-induced warts (NCT03846648).
• SMS-oncologycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 8 August 2019CRO selected to conduct Phase I/II clinical trial with CyPep-1 in solid tumors. Specialized oncology CRO based in Schiphol, Netherlands, providing expertise in early phase and immuno-oncology trials.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mersana Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology company developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and Immunosynthen STING-agonist ADCs. Comparable as a small-cap oncology biotech with platform technology targeting tumor-selective immune activation.
• Arcus Biosciences: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing small molecule and antibody combinations with checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., zimberelimab combinations). Highly comparable in combination therapy focus and oncology pipeline.
• Bicycle Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing synthetic peptide therapeutics (bicyclic peptides) for oncology, including immuno-oncology applications. Most comparable to Cytovation in modality (synthetic peptide) and oncology focus, with similar manufacturing and stability advantages.
• Foghorn Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech targeting chromatin regulatory systems in cancer, including programs targeting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Direct pathway overlap with Cytovation's mechanism and similar oncology focus.
• CytomX Therapeutics: Clinical-stage oncology company developing Probody therapeutics — masked antibodies and other modalities activated in the tumor microenvironment. Shares Cytovation's strategy of tumor-selective immune activation and partnerships with large pharma.
• Bolt Biotherapeutics: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing immune-stimulating antibody conjugates (ISACs) that combine tumor targeting with immune stimulation. Comparable mechanism of combining direct tumor killing with immune activation, similar to CY-101's dual approach.
• Werewolf Therapeutics: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing conditional immune activators (PREDATOR platform) designed to be activated in the tumor microenvironment. Shares Cytovation's tumor-targeted immunotherapy approach and has a board member in common (Ellen Lubman).
• Compugen: Clinical-stage immuno-oncology company using computational biology to identify novel drug targets and develop antibody-based cancer immunotherapies. Comparable as a small-cap cancer immunotherapy company focused on novel targets in the tumor microenvironment.

Broad incumbents

• Moderna: Large biotech with significant oncology pipeline including mRNA cancer vaccines and immuno-oncology combinations targeting solid tumors. Comparable in cancer immunotherapy focus with substantially greater scale and capital.
• BioNTech: Major immuno-oncology company developing mRNA-based cancer vaccines and combination immunotherapies. Comparable in addressing immune resistance in solid tumors, though with much broader pipeline and larger resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cytovation-ab
• Xx.com/cytovation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cytovation