European Consortium Wins €1.3M to Develop Precision Therapy for Chronic Hives

BASEL, Switzerland – April 17, 2026 – A high-profile research consortium named MastCURe has secured €1.3 million in prestigious funding from the Eureka Eurostars program to develop a groundbreaking treatment for chronic urticaria, a debilitating skin condition that affects more than 60 million people worldwide. The collaboration, led by Swiss biotech innovator Allegria Therapeutics, aims to move beyond symptom management and attack the disease at its source: the aberrant activation of mast cells.

The project unites Allegria Therapeutics with German partners Cube Biotech and the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology (ITMP-IA). This funding injection is poised to accelerate the development of a potential first-in-class therapy, offering new hope to a significant patient population for whom current treatments are insufficient.

A Precision Strike Against a Debilitating Disease

Chronic urticaria is far more than a simple rash. Characterized by persistent, intensely itchy hives (wheals) and sometimes deep tissue swelling (angioedema) lasting for six weeks or more, the condition inflicts a heavy burden on patients' quality of life. The constant itching, pain, and fatigue can disrupt sleep, work, and social life, with studies showing its mental health impact can be comparable to that of severe psoriasis.

The global market for chronic urticaria treatments, valued at nearly USD 800 million in 2024, is projected to double within the next decade, reflecting a vast and persistent unmet need. While first-line treatments like second-generation antihistamines provide relief for some, many patients remain symptomatic even at four times the standard dose. The current leading biologic, omalizumab, is a second-line option, but a substantial portion of patients either do not respond or lose response over time.

"Chronic urticaria places a substantial burden on patients' quality of life, and many individuals continue to experience inadequate disease control, underscoring a significant unmet medical need," said Jörg Scheffel, Ph.D., Head of the Drug and Solution Discovery division at Fraunhofer ITMP-IA. "Despite therapeutic advances, a considerable proportion of patients still suffer from persistent, uncontrolled symptoms."

The MastCURe consortium is tackling this challenge by pioneering a precision therapy. Instead of broadly suppressing the immune system or only blocking downstream mediators like histamine, their approach directly and selectively targets the dysregulated mast cells that drive the disease. By calming these cellular culprits, the consortium hopes to prevent the release of the inflammatory cocktail that causes the tell-tale symptoms of urticaria.

Forging a European Powerhouse for Innovation

The €1.3 million award from the Eurostars program, a joint initiative co-funded by the European Union, is a significant vote of confidence in the consortium's approach. Eurostars is renowned for its competitive selection process, backing innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in high-risk, high-reward international R&D projects with strong commercial potential.

This project serves as a model for European cross-border collaboration, synergizing three distinct but complementary areas of expertise:

• Allegria Therapeutics (Basel, Switzerland): As the consortium coordinator, Allegria leads the overall drug discovery and early development program. The company was founded specifically to develop precision therapies for mast cell-driven diseases. "Precision therapies enable us to selectively target specific cell types and pathways, disrupting the disease–driving biology with greater efficacy and safety," stated Maria van Dongen, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Allegria Therapeutics.

• Cube Biotech (Monheim, Germany): This partner provides a critical piece of the puzzle with its proprietary NativeMP™ platform. Mast cell activation is governed by complex proteins embedded in the cell membrane, which are notoriously difficult to study. Cube Biotech's technology stabilizes these proteins in their natural state, allowing for detailed structural analysis. "By contributing our NativeMP™ technology... we aim to enable a deeper understanding of mast cell-relevant membrane proteins and support the development of innovative therapeutic strategies," explained Barbara Maertens, Ph.D., Co-Founder and COO of Cube Biotech.

• Fraunhofer ITMP-IA (Berlin, Germany): The Fraunhofer Institute brings the project from the lab bench closer to the clinic. As a leading translational research institute, its role is to validate the new therapeutic approach using advanced models, including mast cells derived directly from human skin and ex vivo skin tissue. This crucial step ensures the findings are relevant to human disease before progressing toward clinical trials.

"This funding enables us to accelerate the development of a novel therapeutic approach and move closer to delivering a meaningful new option for patients in need," added Dr. Scheffel.

Navigating a Competitive Therapeutic Landscape

The MastCURe consortium enters a dynamic and increasingly crowded field. The limitations of existing therapies have spurred a wave of innovation, with several companies developing next-generation treatments for chronic urticaria. The pipeline includes promising oral BTK inhibitors like Novartis's remibrutinib, which blocks a key signaling enzyme inside mast cells, and anti-KIT antibodies like Celldex's barzolvolimab, which works by depleting mast cells altogether.

This intense competition underscores the massive commercial opportunity and the urgent patient need. MastCURe's emphasis on developing a "novel first-in-class" therapeutic suggests they are exploring new biological targets or mechanisms of action distinct from these other approaches. By leveraging Cube Biotech’s unique platform to investigate challenging membrane proteins, the consortium may uncover and exploit entirely new ways to modulate mast cell behavior, potentially offering advantages in efficacy, safety, or patient applicability over other emerging therapies.

Allegria Therapeutics: A Venture-Backed Visionary

At the helm of the consortium is Allegria Therapeutics, a young but ambitious company that embodies the modern biotech startup model. Founded in 2023 by the venture creator Forty51 Ventures, Allegria was established with a clear mission: to become a leader in the treatment of mast cell-mediated diseases.

The company has already attracted significant private investment, securing a total of USD 8.6 million in seed financing, including from strategic partner ALK-Abelló, a global leader in allergy treatments. This strong financial backing, combined with the non-dilutive Eurostars grant, provides a robust foundation for its R&D programs.

While the MastCURe project for chronic urticaria is its most public-facing initiative, Allegria is building a broader portfolio targeting conditions like mast-cell-driven syndrome and food allergies. The Eurostars funding not only propels a key project forward but also validates the company's core scientific strategy and its leadership team's vision.

"We are delighted to receive the Eurostars funding that enables this project and importantly strengthens our mission to deliver more effective therapeutic options for patients across a broad range of allergic and inflammatory diseases," said Dr. van Dongen. This collaborative effort represents a crucial step in translating sophisticated science into a tangible therapy that could one day transform the lives of millions suffering from the relentless burden of chronic urticaria.