Jens Schwamborn, CEO of OrganoTherapeutics in Luxembourg, discusses how the company is advancing personalized medicine for Parkinson’s disease through patient-specific brain organoids and highlights Luxembourg’s role in supporting biotech innovation.
Can you present your company in a few words?
OrganoTherapeutics, based in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, is a biotech company pioneering personalized medicine for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s disease. Leveraging patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), they develop advanced 3D midbrain organoids and assembloids that replicate individual disease pathology more accurately than traditional models. These models facilitate deep phenotyping and phenotype-based drug screening, enabling the identification of patient subgroups with similar molecular characteristics, which is crucial for developing targeted therapies . OrganoTherapeutics’ approach aims to revolutionize treatment strategies by tailoring therapies to the unique needs of each patient, thus enhancing efficacy and reducing trial-and-error in medication selection. Their work represents a significant step toward the integration of personalized medicine in the management of complex neurological disorders.
How can Luxembourg’s ecosystem help you grow?
Luxembourg is poised to significantly bolster the growth of innovative biotech firms like OrganoTherapeutics through a series of forward-looking initiatives. Furthermore, the Luxembourg government is implementing a €300 million plan to support startups, providing up to 80% public co-financing for projects. This funding strategy is designed to stimulate private investment and accelerate the growth of innovative companies. Additionally, Luxembourg’s investment in high-performance computing infrastructure, such as the MeluXina supercomputer, offers biotech firms the computational power necessary for complex data analysis in personalized medicine research. These strategic initiatives collectively create a conducive environment for OrganoTherapeutics to advance its research and development in personalized medicine, positioning Luxembourg as a supportive hub for biotech innovation.
How do you see your company evolving in the next 2 years?
Over the next two years, OrganoTherapeutics aims to evolve into a premier precision medicine service provider specializing in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s disease. Utilizing our proprietary 3D midbrain organoid technology derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, we plan to offer advanced disease modelling and drug screening services tailored to individual patient profiles. This approach enables the identification of patient subgroups with similar molecular characteristics, facilitating the development of targeted therapies. By collaborating with pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, we intend to integrate our services into clinical workflows, supporting the advancement of personalized treatment strategies in neurology. Our goal is to enhance the efficacy of treatments by aligning them more closely with the unique biological makeup of each patient, thereby contributing to the broader adoption of precision medicine in clinical practice.
