Eduard Batlle

Eduard Batlle is a Spanish biomedical scientist and cancer researcher known for his work on colorectal cancer (CRC), intestinal stem cells, and metastasis. He is an ICREA Research Professor and Principal Investigator at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, where he heads the Cancer Science Programme.

Education and early career Batlle earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Barcelona in 1993 and completed his PhD in Biology there in 1999, conducting research at the Institut Municipal d’Investigació Mèdica (IMIM). He then carried out postdoctoral work with Miguel Beato at the Institut für Molekularbiologie und Tumorforschung (Marburg, Germany) and with Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Laboratory (Utrecht, Netherlands).

Academic and research career Batlle joined the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in 2004 as an ICREA Research Professor and Principal Investigator. He later became Programme Coordinator of the Cancer Science Programme and a member of the IRB Barcelona Executive Committee.

His research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive colorectal cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. His laboratory investigates the relationship between intestinal stem cells and tumor development, as well as the evolution and plasticity of metastatic cells.

Batlle’s early work identified the transcription factor Snail as a repressor of the E-cadherin gene during epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key process in cancer invasion and metastasis. His group later established the connection between intestinal stem cells and colorectal tumorigenesis and revealed the architecture and cellular hierarchy of colorectal tumors.

In subsequent research, Batlle and his team uncovered the role of the TGF-beta signaling pathway in stromal cells in promoting immune evasion and metastatic colonization. In 2022, Batlle’s group identified the cell of origin of metastatic relapse in colorectal cancer.

Batlle has collaborated with the pharmaceutical industry to translate his laboratory findings into potential cancer treatments. One of the most notable examples is the development of petosemtamab (MCLA-158), an antibody targeting cancer stem cells, in collaboration with MERUS N.V. The antibody showed therapeutic activity in patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. FDA. It is currently being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials.

Honors and awards 2025 – Member of the Academia Europaea 2024 – Catalan National Research Award 2024 – EMBO Membership 2023 – Gold Medal of the Red Cross by Spanish Red Cross 2022 – Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2021 – Rei Jaume I Award in Medical Research 2019 – City of Barcelona Award in Life Sciences from City Council of Barcelona 2018 – International Foundation Olof Palme Medal 2017 – Francisco Cobos Foundation Award in Biomedical Research 2016 – Carmen y Severo Ochoa Foundation Award 2016 – Lilly Foundation Award in Pre-clinical Studies 2014 – Pezcoller Foundation–EACR Cancer Researcher Award 2013 – Josef Steiner Cancer Research Award 2013 – National Cancer Research Award “Doctores Diz-Pintado” 2006 – Life Sciences Award from Debiopharm and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Selected publications

Calon, A., et al. (2012). "Dependency of colorectal cancer on a TGF-β–driven program in stromal cells." Cancer Cell. Calon, A., et al. (2015). "Functional immunosuppression by TGF-β in colon cancer stem cells." Nature Genetics. Tauriello, D.V.F., et al. (2018). "TGF-β drives immune evasion in colorectal cancer metastasis." Nature. Cañellas-Socias, A., et al. (2022). "The cell of origin of metastatic relapse in colorectal cancer." Nature. Herpers, B., et al. (2022). "Petosemtamab (MCLA-158), a bispecific antibody targeting cancer stem cells in epithelial tumors." Nature Cancer.