VBL Therapeutics and the EIC Accelerator: A Failed Phase 3

VBL's own CEO spoke of "the urgent unmet need for those fighting platinum-resistant ovarian cancer". Vascular Biogenics, known as VBL Therapeutics and listed on Nasdaq, developed VB-111, or ofra-vec, a gene therapy that, according to the EU project record, "targets the tumor environment by disrupting the blood vessels that supply blood to the tumor and by recruiting the immune system into the tumor".

The European Innovation Council committed €2,500,000 towards a €7.04 million project to complete VBL's Phase 3 OVAL trial and seek approval. In July 2022, four months in, VBL announced that the trial had failed. The EU project was terminated on 8 December 2022. VBL merged with Notable Labs in 2023, and on 13 October 2024 the combined company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, under which its assets are liquidated.

What Happened to VBL

After the trial failed, VBL agreed in February 2023 to merge with Notable Labs, a US company developing precision cancer medicines. The deal closed on 16 October 2023, when VBL took the name Notable Labs, Ltd. and Notable's business became the company's business, according to its SEC filing. A year later, on 13 October 2024, Notable Labs and its subsidiaries, including VBL Inc., filed voluntary Chapter 7 petitions in Delaware. The filing states: "The assets of the Company and its subsidiaries will be liquidated and all claims paid in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code." Its shares were delisted.

The Drug: Attacking the Tumour's Blood Supply

Ofra-vec was designed to disrupt tumour blood vessels and draw immune cells into the tumour. OVAL tested it with the chemotherapy paclitaxel against paclitaxel alone. According to VBL's results announcement, median progression-free survival was 5.29 months with ofra-vec against 5.36 months without, and interim median overall survival 13.37 months against 13.14, differences that "did not support study continuation".

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

The OVAL project aimed "to complete a Phase 3 clinical trial for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and pursue regulatory approval and commercialization". CORDIS lists it as terminated on 8 December 2022, fifteen months early, and publishes no results. How much of the €2.5 million had been paid by then is not public.

1. Complete the Phase 3 trialDeliveredTop-line data July 2022.
2. Show a survival benefitMissedPFS and OS no different.
3. Regulatory approvalMissedProgramme ended.
4. A company that continuesMissedChapter 7, 2024.

What Has Happened Since the Award

The Money

The award was blended finance; we found no EIC Fund investment. VBL was already a listed company with public shareholders when it received the award. The EIC's commitment covered about a third of the project budget; the termination came after the trial result, and whether money was paid before it, or recovered, is not public.

Why Europe Should Care

This award went to a Nasdaq-listed company for the final stage of a drug trial whose readout was months away. That is a different bet from funding an early-stage start-up. When the trial failed, the EU terminated the grant within five months. The case shows the risk of funding a late-stage drug trial.

The Verdict

VBL, now Notable Labs in Chapter 7, could not be asked for comment. This article is based on EU project data and the company's SEC filings, linked throughout.