£100 million funding stream aids UK biotech

pharmafile | June 23, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing BIA, Steve Bates, biomedical catalyst, funding 

UK biotech companies are developing new therapies for cancer, Parkinson’s, diabetes and tinnitus as a direct result of the £100 million worth of funding from the Biomedical Catalyst.

UK biotech companies including Autifony Therapeutics, Biosceptre UK, C4X Discovery, Mission Therapeutics and Oxford BioMedica are amongst the 33 UK companies who have received business-led awards under the Biomedical Catalyst.

This is according to new data from the BioIndustry Association (BIA), which represents UK biotech firms. 

It says that ‘significant sums’ have been invested in the sector through the scheme, including almost £100 million in business-led research by the Technology Strategy Board and around £70 million in academic-led research by the Medical Research Council.

It has already leveraged a further £97 million of private finance into the UK life sciences sector, with more to come.

These latest Biomedical Catalyst awards which were announced by David Willetts MP, minister for science and universities, represent a new £48 million investment in biomedical research.

Amongst the winners, and pending the usual grant conditions being met:

  • Autifony Therapeutics from London will work with the University of Nottingham on a £2.2 million project to progress a first-in-class drug for tinnitus towards a Phase IIa clinical trial
  • Biosceptre UK, based in Cambridge, have been awarded just under £150,000 for their work on novel therapeutic antibodies targeting cancer cell protein markers
  • C4X Discovery Limited from Manchester will use just under £150,000 to investigate the feasibility of small molecules for the treatment of type 2 diabetes
  • Mission Therapeutics from Cambridge has been awarded just under £150,000 to investigate the feasibility of the development and use of desumoylating enzyme inhibitors for the treatment of drug-resistant cancers
  • Oxford BioMedica will use their award of £2.2 million to fund a Phase I/II trial of their ‘once-only’ gene therapy OXB-102 to treat individuals with Parkinson’s disease from their Oxford headquarters.

Steve Bates, chief executive of the BIA, says: “The Biomedical Catalyst is having a significant impact on the sector and the development of innovative new therapies for patients. Thanks to these awards combined with private capital, ground-breaking research in fields such as cancer therapeutics and illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease and tinnitus is able to progress or accelerate more rapidly.

“The success of the scheme is reflected in the increasing number of high quality applications. Despite this stiff competition, I’m delighted to see a number of BIA member companies amongst those selected for this latest round.

“Through its awards and the private capital they leverage, the Biomedical Catalyst has now injected almost £270 million into UK biotech. This is directly supporting companies conducting innovative research into a diverse range of therapeutic areas, including cancer and infection.”

Ben Adams 

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