11 Jun 2026 TUMAGNOSTIC: Convert Pharmaceuticals’ EIC Accelerator Project Concludes and CP-506 Moves Forward
Convert Pharmaceuticals’ EIC Accelerator project, TUMAGNOSTIC, formally concluded at the end of December 2025. Supported by the European Innovation Council, the project enabled Convert to advance its lead clinical candidate, CP-506, from preclinical development into clinical evaluation.
CP-506 is a hypoxia-activated prodrug designed to selectively target low-oxygen regions of solid tumours. Tumour hypoxia is a well-recognised biological feature of many aggressive and treatment-resistant cancers and is associated with poor response to several standard therapies.
Key achievements of the TUMAGNOSTIC project
During the EIC-funded period, Convert was able to achieve several important scientific and clinical milestones:
- Initiation of a first-in-human Phase I/IIa clinical trial of CP-506 across a network of leading European cancer centres, with patient enrolment and treatment underway.
- Generation of an encouraging preliminary safety profile, with no dose-limiting toxicities observed to date.
- Observation of preliminary signals consistent with potential clinical benefit in selected patients, supporting continued clinical investigation.
- Collection of early clinical and translational data consistent with the intended hypoxia-activated mechanism of CP-506.
- Advancement of patient-selection strategies, including the development of tumour hypoxia biomarkers and non-invasive imaging-based approaches to identify patients most likely to benefit from treatment.
The road ahead
The conclusion of the EIC-funded period marks an important milestone, but not the end of CP-506 development. The clinical trial remains ongoing, and Convert intends to continue advancing the programme through the next stages of clinical and translational development.
In the coming period, Convert aims to:
- Complete the initial dose-escalation stage and define the recommended dose for further clinical evaluation, anticipated around the end of 2026.
- Expand the clinical study to further characterise the safety profile and preliminary antitumour activity of CP-506.
- Continue the development and validation of hypoxia- and DNA-repair-related biomarkers.
- Progress CP-506 towards later-stage clinical development.
Convert Pharmaceuticals is grateful to the European Innovation Council for its support. The EIC Accelerator funding has been instrumental in enabling the transition of CP-506 from the laboratory to clinical evaluation in patients with cancer.
This project has received funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No 190158311). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EIC. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.