HOUSTON, April 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spanios, a leader in human-derived organoid model systems, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with White Lion Capital LLC. This collaboration empowers biotech and pharma companies to leverage Spanios’ patient-derived tumoroid (tumor organoid) models for robust preclinical validation while accessing innovative funding from White Lion Capital LLC to advance their clinical development.
Through this partnership, companies that engage Spanios for their COMPASS (Custom Organoid Modelling Platform for Accurate and Speedy Solutions) platform preclinical studies will have the unique opportunity to receive direct investment from White Lion Capital LLC. This investment is specifically structured to fund critical IND-enabling studies and early-stage clinical trials, removing a major barrier for innovative oncology therapeutics looking to move quickly from the lab to the clinic.
With the FDA’s push to adopt and validate New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) under the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, Spanios and White Lion Capital LLC are encouraging oncology companies to capitalize on these regulatory and policy advances for innovative drug development.
Traditional preclinical animal models often fail to accurately predict human response and are increasingly being replaced by non-animal models such as Spanios’ COMPASS platform. While these advanced studies provide robust, multi-indication readouts, they can be financially challenging especially for early-stage biotech companies focused on a single molecule.
To address this, Spanios has launched the COMPASS-APP (Adoption Promotion Plan), bridging the gap between IND-enabling efficacy studies and the funding required to execute them. Under COMPASS-APP, clients adopting the platform can accelerate drug discovery and validation by using Spanios’ predictive, human-derived tumoroid models for efficacy and biomarker studies with investment and sponsorship facilitated through White Lion Capital LLC.
Bhuvanesh Dave, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Spanios, commented:
“We are thrilled to partner with White Lion Capital LLC to provide our clients with both innovative science and accessible funding through the COMPASS-APP program. Our goal is to improve clinical trial success rates and accelerate the development of new therapies for orphan, rare, and difficult-to-treat cancers.”
Yash Thukral, JD, Founding Partner of White Lion Capital LLC, added:
“Our collaboration with Spanios is designed to remove the biggest barriers for biotech innovators—funding and reliable data. White Lion Capital LLC provides direct investment to companies utilizing the COMPASS platform, funding their critical preclinical and clinical studies. By bringing together capital, scientific expertise, and human-relevant models, we enable more breakthrough treatments to reach patients faster.”
About Spanios
Founded to fast-track the discovery and delivery of oncology drugs for rare and difficult-to-treat cancers, Spanios recreates human tumors and their microenvironments ex-vivo, eliminating the need for animal models. The COMPASS platform provides precise, translational models to reliably predict clinical outcomes and speed up drug discovery. Learn more at www.spanioslab.com.
White Lion Capital LLC:
Yash Thukral, JD | Founding Partner
yash@whitelioncapital.com | www.whitelioncapital.com
Spanios:
Preethi Samuel, PhD | Co-Founder & COO
preethi.samuel@spanioslab.com | www.spanioslab.com
Investor Relations:
Harrison Seidner, PhD | SVP, WaterSeid Partners, Inc.
harrison@waterseid.com | www.waterseid.com
