Industry case: Disarming disease by design – Oxcia’s path from discovery to clinic with SciLifeLab support

The Stockholm-based biotech company Oxcia is advancing a new class of therapies grounded in a unique technology platform that targets the interplay between oxidative stress and DNA damage. With deep academic roots and a vision to industrialize innovation, Oxcia is leveraging SciLifeLab’s Drug Discovery and Development (DDD) Platform to move cutting-edge science into the clinic.

Oxcia’s approach is based on its proprietary O2-DDR technology platform, which modulates oxidative stress and DNA damage response (DDR) pathways in cells. The platform is designed to exploit the cellular mechanisms that manage oxidative DNA damage, offering broad therapeutic potential across cancer, fibrosis, and inflammatory diseases.

“Two of the key building blocks for life are DNA and oxygen,” says Ulrika Warpman Berglund, CEO of Oxcia. “Our O2-DDR platform focuses on these components. By carefully managing oxidative stress and DNA repair pathways, we can either push diseased cells beyond repair or dampen harmful inflammation to protect healthy tissue.”

The versatility of the platform allows different therapeutic effects depending on the target proteins and mechanism of action. Oxcia’s lead program, OXC-101, is currently in early clinical development and works by inducing oxidative stress in cells with high DNA damage—such as in certain blood cancers. A second program, OXC-201, aims to block oxidative stress and reduce inflammation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and is currently in preclinical development. The pipeline also includes exploratory efforts in dermatological diseases such as psoriasis.

“We had access to world-class scientists and top-tier infrastructure, and it made all the difference”

Both OXC-101 (MTH1 project initiated around 2010) and OXC-201 originated in the Helleday Laboratory at Karolinska Institutet, where SciLifeLab researcher professor Thomas Helleday’s team first identified and validated their biological relevance, and mechanism of actions (MoA). “We were in the front line of setting up activities around screening, ADME, pharmacokinetics, and safety, which are essential components of any serious drug discovery effort,” says Warpman Berglund.

OXC-101, a Swedish academic drug discovery project targeting MTH1, was the first program to make use of the SciLifeLab DDD platform, which was being built in 2014. Pawel Baranczewski, now Head of the ADME of Therapeutics (ADMEoT) unit at SciLifeLab DDD, was part of the project team, first as a member of the Helleday Laboratory and later as head of the ADMEoT unit, and a DDD project leader. The ADMEoT unit contributed to the project by conducting in vitro physicochemical and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) studies, performing bioanalysis of in vivo animal samples, and supporting physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) simulations and PK/PD modelling. These modelling and simulation efforts were aimed at identifying potential patient populations. Additional contributions from other DDD units focused on elucidating and clarifying the MoA.

“This was very much a collaborative journey,” says Baranczewski. “Oxcia brought a clear vision and a strong scientific foundation, while we supported them with cutting-edge drug discovery technologies and regulatory expertise. The result was a complete preclinical package for a truly novel therapeutic.”

The progression of the project was one of the early achievements of the DDD platform, which concluded its involvement in 2016.

For a small biotech company, being able to access advanced instrumentation such as high-resolution mass spectrometry and complex cell screening platforms without heavy capital investment is a game-changer. The collaboration provided Oxcia not only with data but also the regulatory-grade expertise needed to ensure that data could move the program forward.

“We often hear that early-stage biotech companies can’t access the same quality of data as big pharma,” says Warpman Berglund. “That’s not true if you collaborate with SciLifeLab. We had access to world-class scientists and top-tier infrastructure, and it made all the difference.”

“What SciLifeLab offers is not just technology, but a hub of knowledge that companies can plug into.”

In its second program, OXC-201, Oxcia continues to work with SciLifeLab’s UDOPP (ADMEoT) /SciLifeLab DDD teams (first as an academic project and at a later stage as full-costs project). specifically on ADME, bioanalysis, metabolite characterization, and pharmacokinetics analysis. Beyond concrete services, the collaboration highlights a model that brings together the creativity of academia with the operational rigor of industry.

“Thomas Helleday’s vision was to merge these two worlds,” says Warpman Berglund. “When I joined in 2012, I brought drug discovery experience from pharma, but we also knew we had to bring in other expertise in clinical development, regulatory, toxicology. SciLifeLab helped us find that expertise, build that network, and ultimately take these programs forward.”

Baranczewski adds, “Most academic groups or startups can’t cover every aspect of drug development internally. What SciLifeLab offers is not just technology, but a hub of knowledge that companies can plug into.”

As Sweden works to retain life science talent and infrastructure in the wake of big life science and biotech exits, national platforms like SciLifeLab offer a counterbalance, supporting the next generation of biotech companies and therapeutic breakthroughs.

“We’re a small team with big ambitions,” says Warpman Berglund. “Our vision is not to become a one-product company. We want to build a sustainable engine for innovation. SciLifeLab is a key partner in helping us realize that vision.”

“We want to build a sustainable engine for innovation”