Step Pharma Secures Up to €12.5 Million EIC Award to Advance CTPS1 Inhibitor Dencatistat in CTPS2-Null Cancers

New updates have been reported about Step Pharma.

Step Pharma has secured a blended finance award from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, combining a €2.5 million grant with the possibility of up to €10 million in equity, to accelerate development of its first-in-class CTPS1 inhibitor dencatistat in CTPS2-null ovarian and endometrial cancers. The funding will support progression beyond the ongoing phase 1a dose-escalation trial in solid tumours into safety expansion cohorts targeting CTPS2-deficient malignancies, where synthetic lethal dependence on CTPS1 provides a precision oncology angle that could deliver efficacy with reduced toxicity.

The expansion cohorts in CTPS2-null ovarian and endometrial cancers, indications in which CTPS2 loss occurs in an estimated 15–20% of patients, are scheduled to begin enrolling in 2026, with an additional cohort planned in CTPS2-null lung cancer. This EIC award follows a €38 million Series C round completed in October 2025, the launch of a third clinical programme in essential thrombocythaemia, and ongoing phase 1/2 work in relapsed or refractory T- and B-cell lymphomas where dencatistat holds U.S. FDA orphan drug designation for T-cell lymphoma, collectively strengthening Step Pharma’s capital position, pipeline breadth and strategic optionality in CTPS1-targeted oncology.