Base to Base biotech podcast 44: Treating breast cancer and how a CDMO and immun0-oncology company collaborate

This week, we chat with Pan Cancer T CEO Dr. Rachel Abbott, about – among other things – triple-negative breast cancer. We also have a conversation with Erik Manting, CEO of immunotherapy company Mendus, and Janet Hoogstraate, CEO of the CDMO helping them, North X Biologics.Times:03:56 Pan Cancer T20:23 Mendus/NorthX BiologicsMendusMendus is a Swedish–Dutch immuno-oncology company developing cell-based therapies aimed at stopping cancers from coming back rather than treating only the initial tumour. Its lead product, vididencel, is an off‑the‑shelf dendritic cell vaccine being developed as a post‑remission therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and more recently chronic myeloid leukaemia, who remain at high risk of relapse after standard treatment. Mendus’ pipeline explores how active immunotherapies could extend treatment‑free survival in different myeloid malignancies.In 2025, Mendus refined its strategy for vididencel on the back of positive data from a phase 2a trial in high‑risk AML, where long‑term follow‑up has shown durable remissions and an encouraging safety profile. Vididencel is also being studied in a phase 2b trial in combination with oral azacitidine, aimed at broadening its use beyond patients with measurable residual disease.NorthX BiologicsNorth X Biologics is a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) and national innovation hub for complex biologics in Sweden. The company provides GMP‑grade development and manufacturing services for plasmid DNA, recombinant proteins, viral vectors, and cell & gene therapies from its facilities in Matfors and on the Karolinska University Hospital campus in Stockholm. Its goal is to give emerging biotechs and academic groups access to infrastructure and regulatory expertise that would be hard to build alone.NorthX has expanded into cell therapy manufacturing, adding capabilities for multiple cell types, including pluripotent stem cells. The organisation aims to strengthen Sweden’s role as a European centre for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs).NorthX has collaborated with Mendus since 2023. In late 2025, they announced successful GMP manufacturing certification for vididencel at NorthX’s facilities, which supports Mendus’ upcoming late‑stage clinical trials and eventual commercial supply.Pan Cancer TPan Cancer T brings a different angle to cancer immunotherapy, focusing on engineered T cell receptor (TCR‑T) therapies for hard‑to‑treat solid tumours.Based in Rotterdam and spun out from Erasmus MC in 2020, the company is building a pipeline around tumour‑specific antigens that are consistently and strongly expressed across multiple cancers. Its lead programme, PCT1:CO‑STIM, is being developed for women with triple‑negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease with limited treatment options and poor survival once it has spread.By focusing on shared antigens across different tumour types, Pan Cancer T aims to develop treatments that could, in time, be applied beyond breast cancer to other solid tumours including melanoma and cancers of the skin, colorectum, stomach, oesophagus, ovary and uterus.In December 2025, the company announced €10m financing to move PCT1:CO‑STIM into its first‑in‑human clinical trial in the Netherlands.To get in touch with guest suggestions, or to advertise on the podcast, [email protected]