Peptide therapeutics · Tumor stroma · Oncology
Overcoming barriers
in cancer therapy.
ScarTec Therapeutics is a Dutch biotechnology company developing ITGA5-targeted peptide therapeutics that reprogram the dense fibrotic stroma of pancreatic cancer — restoring the efficacy of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Our purpose
Transforming the treatment of fibrotic tumors.
Fibrotic tumors such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are defined by a dense, scar-like stroma that walls tumor cells off from the immune system and blocks the delivery of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This biological barrier is one of the main reasons why the treatments have barely been improved in decades.
At ScarTec Therapeutics, we are developing ITGA5-targeted peptide therapeutics that reprogram the fibrotic stroma at its source — silencing the cancer-associated fibroblasts that build and sustain it.
By dismantling this barrier, we restore therapy access, reverse treatment resistance, and unlock the full potential of existing and emerging therapies — starting with pancreatic cancer and extending to other fibrosis-driven malignancies and chronic fibrotic disease.
Target the fibrotic stroma
Disarm the dense, scar-like stroma that shields fibrotic cancers like pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma from treatment.
Restore therapy access
Reopen the tumor microenvironment so chemotherapy and immunotherapy can reach malignant cells and act effectively.
Redefine outcomes
Translate stromal reprogramming into meaningful survival gains for patients facing the deadliest fibrotic cancers.
Trusted across European research
The challenge
How do we make pancreatic cancer treatments effective?
Little survival gains in 40 years
Pancreatic cancer has seen hardly any meaningful improvement in survival over four decades. Only 10–15% of tumors are resectable and the 5-year survival rate has barely reached 12%.
Dense stroma blocks therapy
Cancer-associated fibroblasts build a thick fibrotic barrier that limits drug delivery, blocks T-cell infiltration, and drives resistance to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
No stromal therapy on market
Despite a market growing from $2.4B (2024) to a projected $5.8B by 2030, no tumor-stroma-targeting agent has reached approval. Recent immunotherapy trials in PDAC have shown no impact.
Our science & platform
Reprogramming the PDAC
stroma via ITGA5.
ScarTec's lead peptide ST-102 selectively blocks integrin α5 on cancer-associated fibroblasts, simultaneously reduces CAF-driven matrix production and resistance to potentiate the therapeutic efficacy of chemo-immunotherapy.
ITGA5 Targeting
Integrin α5 (ITGA5) is overexpressed in the stroma of PDAC and other solid tumors — colorectal, breast, ovarian, HCC, NSCLC — but shows low to negligible expression in healthy tissues, enabling a wide therapeutic window.
CAF Reprogramming
Our peptide simultaneously reprograms CAFs, inhibiting ECM production as well as stroma induced resistance, collapsing the fibrotic shield from two directions.
Restored Drug Access
ST-102 reprograms the PDAC microenvironment, increases CD8⁺ T-cell infiltration, shifts macrophages from pro-tumoral M2 to anti-tumoral M1, and boosts intra-tumoral drug accumulation in vivo.
Peptide Platform
ST-102 is a short and stable peptide with long shelf life, easily manufactured and scaled up and is administered systematically.
Pipeline
Three programs. One ITGA5 platform.
A focused pipeline anchored by ST-102 in IND-enabling studies for PDAC, with platform programs in IPF and lung metastasis.
Lead program advancing through IND-enabling studies for PDAC. ST-102, a stable cyclic peptide, blocks ITGA5 on both myCAFs and iCAFs — collapsing the desmoplastic barrier and potentiating chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Preclinical program leveraging the ITGA5 platform to halt and reverse pulmonary fibrosis — addressing one of the highest unmet needs in respiratory medicine.
AV3 peptide conjugated to polymeric nanoparticles (PNP) targets stromal fibroblasts in lung metastasis, delivering docetaxel directly to the metastatic niche and reducing established lung metastases in vivo.
Why ScarTec
Built for long-term value.
Four reasons strategic partners and investors are engaging with us today.
- 01
Validated Science
Decade-plus of peer-reviewed research (Science Advances, Trends in Cancer, FASEB Journal, APSB 2026) establishing ITGA5 as a stromal target across PDAC and other solid tumors.
- 02
Strong IP Position
Patent EP3365353 granted across the US, EU, Japan, China, Australia, Korea, Canada, India, and Iceland — with a new ST-102 composition-of-matter patent filed in 2026.
- 03
High Unmet Need
Pancreatic cancer survival has barely moved in 40 years. The stromal therapy market is forecast to grow from $2.4B to $5.8B by 2030, with no approved stromal agent on the market today.
- 04
Platform Potential
ITGA5 is overexpressed in colorectal, breast, ovarian, HCC, and NSCLC — and our nanomedicine and cytokine-delivery formats extend the platform well beyond PDAC.
Partnering
Open to strategic partners and investors.
We are actively exploring partnerships across the value chain — from discovery collaborations to commercial licensing.
- 01
Licensing
Out-licensing of clinical-stage and platform assets across fibrosis and oncology indications.
- 02
Strategic Collaborations
Co-development partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
- 03
Research Partnerships
Joint research programs with academic institutions and translational research centers.
- 04
Investment
Discussions with strategic, institutional, and venture capital investors.
Contact
Let's discuss partnership.
For licensing, collaboration, investment, or scientific inquiries, reach out directly or use the form.
ScarTec Therapeutics BV
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands