# Steba Biotech

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/steba-biotech/  
OnCo record `steba-biotech` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Steba Biotech developed padeliporfin, a light-activated drug injected into the bloodstream and switched on by laser fibres in the prostate to destroy low-risk prostate cancer, approved in Europe as Tookad.

## Summary

Steba Biotech developed vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy with padeliporfin (WST11, Tookad), a bacteriochlorophyll derivative created at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The drug is infused intravenously and activated by near-infrared light delivered through fibres placed in the prostate, causing rapid vessel occlusion and tumour necrosis. The European Commission approved Tookad in 2017 for unilateral low-risk prostate cancer after a randomised trial against active surveillance; it is also being studied in upper tract urothelial cancer.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Also known as: STEBA Biotech S.A.
- Tags: drug-maker
- HQ: Luxembourg
- Type: pharma

## Connected records

- drugs: [Padeliporfin](https://onco.cc/drugs/padeliporfin/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/steba-biotech.json