My Name is Sheila Krishnadath. I recently created the startup company SmadMin-Therapeutics B.V. (SmadMinX), to develop my proprietary anti-cancer drugs toward the clinic. I have been studying Gastro-intestinal cancers for many years in order to combat the aggressive cancers, which occur in the esophagus, stomach and pancreas. My major quest is to tackle cancer spread also known as ‘metastasis’ in the body. I recently succeeded to demonstrate that the Llama antibodies that I developed against specific growth factors, effectively prevent the formation of lung and liver metastases in animal studies. My drug is among the first or perhaps the only drug in the field of prevention of cancer spread for aggressive types of cancer. These cancers carry a specific gene signature, which are present in 15-30% of cases. The story of my research on a specific biological signaling pathway, which I selectively target with my unique drugs, started almost 20 years ago in the Academia and resulted in several scientific publications, national and international grants and patents.

Currently, I am appointed as a professor at the University of Antwerp and work as a Professor at the University of Antwerp, and a Gastroenterologist at the University Hospital of Antwerp in Belgium. Together with my team, the goal of SmadMinx B.V. is to furhter develop the proprietary drugs towards the clinic in order to combat an aggressive form of cancer and extent the lives of many cancer patients.