Current cancer treatments often kill many healthy cells along with cancer cells. Completely preventing this damage to healthy cells is one of the greatest challenges in the medical world. Gerco Kanbier, co-founder of GenLumina, is developing a targeted therapy that selectively destroys cancer cells using light. Based at the Leiden Bio Science Park, he is working on what he believes will become the new therapeutic standard in oncology within ten years.
The problem that nobody solved
Oncology often reaches its limits: treatments are typically harsh and invasive, damaging healthy cells as well as the tumor. GenLumina is changing that with a unique method.
“We use an antibody or peptide to specifically target the cancer cell,” Kanbier explains. “We will then attach our nanomedicine, which is only two nanometers in size, to it. Only when we shine a specific light frequency on it is the package activated in a controlled manner, and only that cancer cell is destroyed.” Think of it as a light switch that turns the cell off.
What makes this story special? This technology was discovered by accident. During optical research on a biosensor in the Physics Department, it turned out that at a specific light frequency, the sensor did not read the cells but destroyed them. After ten years of basic research, the concept was patented by Leiden University (Faculty of Science) through Luris.
“As a scientist, you don’t just become an entrepreneur, it’s really a process,”
From university to business
The story of GenLumina begins in the laboratories at Leiden University. In August 2024, the team decided to officially commercialize the technology. The startup is a classic spin-off and is led by its three founders: Prof. Dirk Bouwmeester, an expert in quantum optics; CSO Donny de Bruin; and CEO Gerco Kanbier himself, who, as the business co-founder, brings 25 years of entrepreneurial experience to the table.
“As a scientist, you don’t just become an entrepreneur overnight, it’s really a process,” Gerco explains. While the scientists delved deep into nanotechnology, he brought the knowledge, experience, and structure needed to build the company from the ground up.
PLNT as a starting point
Before the team could really get started on the startup, it sought guidance in the business world. It found that through Venture Academy and unlock_, programs offered by PLNT. There, the team learned how to develop a preclinical roadmap, improve pitches, and understand exactly what investors are looking for.
But just as valuable was the community surrounding PLNT. “It creates a friendly atmosphere and feels like home,” says Gerco. “You run into each other, ask how things are going, and keep each other on their toes.” Thanks to this strong network and the guidance of coaches, the startup was able to take the right steps in its early stages and raise its first million euros in growth capital, which is now being invested almost entirely in R&D and the lab.
Synergy at the Bio Science Park
GenLumina got off to a simple start with a flexible workspace at PLNT. It was ideal for the administrative phase of the startup, but the team soon ran into practical limitations: the biological research required a physical laboratory.
“At one point, we were spread across two locations: the office at PLNT and the lab at BioPartner 5,” says Gerco. To facilitate collaboration and daily coordination, the entire team moved from PLNT to the combined office and lab space at BioPartner 5. To share costs efficiently, GenLumina shares the expensive infrastructure there with 1NA, another startup the team knows from their time at Venture Academy.
What no one had seen before
The results GenLumina is demonstrating in the lab are opening the door to a new future. Whereas doctors and researchers previously had to accept that healthy cells were caught in the crossfire of the fight against cancer, GenLumina is now showing just how locally and precisely a tumor can be eliminated.
We have never before seen the controlled destruction of malignant cells using light in practice. There have been previous attempts using light, such as photodynamic therapy, but that works fundamentally differently: with GenLumina, light is merely the trigger that activates the drug.
The Dream
The Leiden-based startup has lofty ambitions. Within two to three years, the team aims to complete the preclinical phase for a specific indication, including all necessary safety and efficacy tests on tissues and animal models.
“We want to have the data ready so that the regulatory authority (EMA) can approve it, allowing us to begin the very first clinical trials in humans,” Gerco says, looking ahead.
To make that dream a reality and accelerate the process, GenLumina is currently actively seeking a private investor for 500,000 euros. This will also allow the company to tap into other financial instruments to fund preclinical research over the next two to three years (a total of 6.1 million euros is needed to reach the First-in-Human stage). The ultimate goal: to have this drug included as part of the treatment regimen in every oncology clinic worldwide and to make cancer a definitively treatable disease.
