Gate2brain or the innovative solution for pediatric brain tumors 2026

Article by Ana M. González

The Catalan startup was born to promote a technology that helps drugs reach the brain better

The use of technology in conjunction with science can save lives, this is a fact. The new technological revolution is optimizing all processes in the field of health, from drug research to diagnosis. A notable example is Gate2brain, a Catalan startup that was born to promote technology that helps drugs reach the brain better. Meritxell Teixidó, CEO and co-founder of the startup, explains it like this: “It is as if they were tractors that go to the brain and that carry as a trailer drugs that on their own do not know how to go there,” points out to VIA Empresa Teixidó, who details that Gate2brain , created in July 2020, is a spin-off of three institutions: the University of Barcelona, IRB Barcelona and the Sant Joan de Déu Pediatric Hospital.

Teixidó (Gate2brain): It is as if they were tractors that go to the brain and that carry as trailer drugs that on their own do not know how to go there”

The co-founder has accumulated 20 years of research and has supervised 10 doctoral theses. In their research, together with their team, they discovered that “peptides, which are nothing more than very small proteins, could act as tractors for the distribution of drugs,” says the co-founder. In addition, they observed that almost all diseases of the central nervous system have associated research groups, both national and international, or companies that develop drug candidates. The main problem, however, is that 98% of these drugs need technology to help them reach the brain.

Based on this experience, the co-founders decided to start with a specific disease. They wanted to identify an approach that would have a high impact and also validate the potential of peptides as tractors, opening the door to future research. They chose to focus on pediatric brain tumors. “Children represent 25% of the current population and 100% of the future if we do not decide to live 200 years,” says the co-founder.

The Catalan startup that was born in times of pandemic to combat childhood cancer

The birth of Gate2brain coincided with the 2020 pandemic. At that time, Teixidó, along with his three co-founding partners, realized that during years of research at the IRB they had discovered that peptides could act as “tractor launchers” and they began to patent them. Meanwhile, the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital had identified a type of chemotherapy that could offer an opportunity to these children, but needed a tractor to administer it. Thus, they began to collaborate with the hospital, and from this synergy was born the idea of creating the company, winner of the seventh edition of the Barcelona Activa pre-acceleration program.

Teixidó confesses that “it is a tumor that currently has no cure, it is diagnosed around five or six years of age, and life expectancy is very reduced.”

At this point, Teixidó confesses that “it is a tumor that currently has no cure, it is diagnosed around five or six years old, and life expectancy is very reduced.” Despite this, this focus on healthcare confirms that Gate2brain’s technology can offer hope for treatment by making it easier to transport medicines. Initially applied to pediatric brain tumors, this technology can make treatments more effective and with fewer side effects, since more targeted administration reduces the risks of adverse effects. After passing several phases, the team of 12 people that forms Gate2brain is very promising and is currently in the preclinical phase, with the aim of reaching a clinical trial in two or three years.

“The first investor we had was the Botín Foundation, which marked the beginning of the company. Later we had the support of Banc Sabadell, which allowed us to mature the project. A year and a half ago, we obtained the EIC Accelerator, an important European aid of two and a half million euros,” explains Teixidó. However, he highlights that at the end of October they will open an investment round specially designed by Business Angels and Family Offices, with the aim of obtaining the necessary support to give a final push to the preclinical phase and, subsequently, generate a larger round for the clinical trial “In total, we have received half a million euros in initial investment and more than 3.5. millions in national and international aid,” says the co-founder.

With a disruptive technology like Gate2brain, Teixidó expects the clinical trial to begin within two years. “If the results are promising, it is possible that large pharmaceutical companies will be interested in licensing some of these solutions for childhood cancer,” concludes the CEO of the startup.

Source: Via Empresa