--- title: "A cage you can program" description: "nCage develops unique programmable synthetic virus-like particles, used as vaccines or as drug delivery systems" url: https://www.ncage.org/en/about language: en site: nCage Therapeutics --- # A cage you can program nCage develops unique programmable synthetic virus-like particles, used as vaccines or as drug delivery systems Established in 2020 and based in Kraków, Poland, and Durham, UK ## What we bring - **Develop** — Development of a novel technology for respiratory vaccines - **Technology** — Unique, global patent-protected TRAP-cage technology - **Efficacy** — Preclinical animal data have demonstrated excellent efficacy of our platform - **People** — A team of leading scientists and globally experienced biotech professionals ## From a structure to a pipeline Scientific and business milestones since the company was founded. ### 2026 - Q3, Scientific: First cytotoxicity dataset for the TRAP-cage antibody drug conjugate. The cage was redesigned with new cysteine mutants to carry a wider range of payloads. - Scientific: Lyme disease established as the lead program, with de novo OspC antigens displayed on the TRAP-cage. - Q2, Business: NIH license for prefusion RSV F proteins extended by two years. - Q1, Business: Collaboration agreement signed with Durham University for next-generation vaccine manufacturing. ### 2025 - Q4, Scientific: Proof of concept dataset for the universal influenza vaccine: neutralizing antibody response in mice. - Q4, Business: First external production of the TRAP-cage at a contract manufacturer. - Q3, Scientific: Strong T cell response in mice from peptides delivered inside the cage. - Scientific: High load cage: around 130 peptides carried inside and around 30 antigens displayed outside. - Business: Option agreement with Oxford University Innovation for universal influenza epitopes. - Business: Company converted to a joint stock company, nCage Therapeutics S.A. ### 2024 - Q4, Business: Research collaboration with Ryvu Therapeutics on a TRAP-cage antibody drug conjugate platform. - Q3, Business: Collaboration with the University of Nottingham on a Chagas disease vaccine. - Scientific: Internal antigen packaging with SpyTag and SpyCatcher. - Q2, Business: License agreement with the US National Institutes of Health for prefusion RSV F proteins. - Q2, Business: Three further patent families under examination in Europe, the United States, Japan, China and Canada. - Q1, Business: PLN 11 million financing round completed with YouNick Mint and private investors. - Q1, Business: Supervisory Board established, chaired by Jarosław Oleszczuk. ### 2023 - Scientific: In-mice immune response for a viral vaccine, attached externally. - Business: First patent accepted. - Q3, Scientific: Neutralizing antibody results. ### 2022 - Scientific: In-mice immune response for a test antigen attached externally, with MSD. - Business: Extensive partnership agreed with leading UK scientists and the University of Nottingham. ### 2021 - Scientific: Capture of internal cargo and delivery to cells. - Business: Second licensing agreement with Jagiellonian University. - Business: Prepared and filed three additional patents. ### 2020 - Business: Collaboration agreement with MSD. - Business: Commercial agreement with UJ/MCB for laboratory space. - Scientific: Production and structure determination of an artificial protein cage. - Business: First licensing agreement with Jagiellonian University. ## Founders and management Research leadership from Cambridge, Oxford and RIKEN, alongside commercial leadership from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim and Sanofi. ### John V. Bason, Ph.D. _Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder_ John Bason, Ph.D., is Chief Executive Officer and President of the Management Board at nCage Therapeutics, and a co-founder of the company. He previously served as a consultant to the Polish Development Fund (PFR), has board-level experience in Polish companies, and has invested in biotechnology ventures. John brings a substantial research and development background. He worked as a Senior Investigative Scientist at the Medical Research Council (MRC) laboratory in Cambridge, United Kingdom, where he led a series of collaborative research projects. His research concerned the structure and mechanism of ATP synthase and involved a network of international scientists in North America. He also has extensive commercial project management experience in high-technology sectors in Poland and abroad. John received his Ph.D. from Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, and his MBiochem in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from St Hugh's College, University of Oxford. ### Christopher Kaplan _Chief Business Officer & Co-Founder_ Christopher Kaplan is Chief Business Officer and a member of the Management Board of nCage Therapeutics. Chris has over 30 years of experience in the global life science industry, developing and commercializing new therapies and technologies. He is also President of Axcend Health, a biotechnology venture-building firm with offices in Boston and Warsaw. Chris has a substantial background in global life science operations, business development and licensing, and has executed numerous partnering and acquisition transactions. He has held senior global leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim and Sanofi. Chris holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University, and a management degree from INSEAD. ### Katarzyna Deoniziak _Finance Director_ Katarzyna Deoniziak oversees finance and operations at nCage Therapeutics, supporting the company’s growth and development as an early-stage biotechnology venture. Since joining nCage in 2023, she has been responsible for financial planning, budgeting, reporting, cash flow management and the operational infrastructure supporting the company’s activities. Her experience in start-up finance, financial controlling and business operations enables her to build and manage the financial and organizational processes required to support the growth of an innovative biotech company. Katarzyna holds two master’s degrees from the University of Warsaw: in Finance, Accounting and Insurance, and in Management. ### Jonathan Heddle, Ph.D., D.Sc. _Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder_ Jonathan Heddle, Ph.D., D.Sc., is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at nCage Therapeutics, leading the company's research and development around the design of novel protein structures and therapeutics. He also serves as an Extraordinary Professor at the Małopolska Centre of Biotechnology (MCB) at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Jonathan has more than 20 years of experience researching natural and artificial bio-nanomachines. He has made significant contributions to the understanding of DNA gyrase, an important antibacterial target, and has played a major role in designing novel artificial structures from DNA and proteins, including nanorobotic DNA boxes, protein nanotubes and protein cages. Before nCage and MCB, Jonathan carried out research at the John Innes Centre in the UK and spent over a decade in Japan, teaching and running laboratories at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and at RIKEN, Japan's largest scientific research institution. He received his D.Sc. from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Leicester, and a B.Pharm (Hons) from the University of Nottingham. He is currently Professor in the Department of Biosciences at Durham University. ### Izabela Stupka, Ph.D. _Principal Scientist_ Izabela Stupka, Ph.D., is Principal Scientist at nCage Therapeutics, where she leads laboratory research on the company's programmable protein cage platform, from molecular design through to protein expression, production and characterization. Izabela has built her career turning artificial protein cages into drug delivery vehicles and vaccine platforms. In Jonathan Heddle's laboratory at the Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology in Krakow, she co-authored key studies on TRAP-cage, showing that the cage can carry a protein cargo into cells in active form and that its opening and cargo release can be programmed chemically. She holds a Ph.D. from the Postgraduate School of Molecular Medicine at the Medical University of Warsaw and presents nCage's TRAP-cage vaccine platform at international conferences. ## Frequently asked questions ### Who is nCage Therapeutics? nCage Therapeutics is a biotechnology company established in 2019 and based in Kraków, Poland, with operations at NETPark in the United Kingdom. It develops programmable synthetic protein cages, called TRAP-cages, which are used both as vaccines and as drug delivery systems. ### What is a TRAP-cage? A TRAP-cage is a synthetic virus-like particle assembled from twenty-four rings of the bacterial TRAP protein, held together at their vertices by gold(I) ions. It is hollow, carries no genetic material of its own, and can either display biological material on its surface or transport cargo inside the cell. ### What makes TRAP-cages different from other virus-like particles? Programmable opening and closing, which is unique to the TRAP-cage platform. Other synthetic virus-like particles mount antigens only on the outside. A TRAP-cage is also loaded on the inside, holds that cargo shut in circulation, and releases it on cue once it reaches the target cell. ### How does the cage open on command? The gold(I) links that hold the protein rings together break in the presence of a reducing agent inside the cell. Nothing else about the cage has to change: the cage falls apart and delivers its payload where it is needed, rather than on the way there. ### What can a TRAP-cage carry? Proteins, peptides, nucleic acids and small molecule drugs. Both the exterior and the interior surfaces of the cage are readily modified, which is where most of the platform's potential sits. ### What is in nCage's pipeline? The company’s leading product programs are a Lyme disease vaccine, a universal influenza vaccine, and a drug delivery system, all being developed on the same underlying platform. ### Who founded nCage Therapeutics? The company was co-founded by John V. Bason, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer; Christopher Kaplan, Chief Business Officer; and Jonathan Heddle, Ph.D., D.Sc., Chief Scientific Officer. ### Where is nCage Therapeutics based? The company operates through two entities: nCage Therapeutics S.A. at ul. Profesora Michała Bobrzyńskiego 14, 30-348 Kraków, Poland, and nCage Ltd. at Orbit, Joseph Swan Road, NETPark, Sedgefield TS21 3FB, United Kingdom. ### How can I contact nCage Therapeutics? Write to info@ncage.org, or use the inquiry form on the contact page. Inquiries reach the team directly.