£50m oncology fund pays out
pharmafile | April 24, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cancer, ICR, MPS1
The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London has become the first recipient of money from a £50 million fund designed to speed up the development of new molecularly targeted cancer drugs.
Cancer Research Technology’s Pioneer Fund (CPF) has dipped into its coffers because ICR’s findings around a class of drugs called MPS1 inhibitors look promising.
Bridging the so-called ‘innovation gap’ in UK drug discovery – the stage between discovering a molecule and turning it into a viable medicine – is a hot topic.
ICR’s Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit has already received funding from Cancer Research UK for its initial forays into the field and the latest, undisclosed, tranche of funding will boost the ICR team.
The hope is that the cash injection will help speed up the process and it will also pay for early clinical trials of potential drugs which arise from the work. Other companies may then come on board to move the process along.
Studies have shown that MPS1 is present in high levels in cancers such as breast and prostate, with the protein also linked to increased genetic instability in tumours.
Part of a family of proteins called mitotic checkpoint kinases, MPS1s are responsible for ensuring cell division works correctly – so when they are faulty, division becomes defective, thus fuelling cancers.
The hope is that MPS1 treatment decreases the viability of cancer cells.
“This investment will pave the way for potential new cancer drugs to be taken into Phase I clinical trials,” said Ian Miscampbell, managing partner of Sixth Element Capital, the finance house which manages the fund.
“If the first studies are successful we’ll seek industry partners to further develop and commercialise these drugs,” he added.
Professor Paul Workman, deputy chief executive of the ICR called the funding “absolutely essential to bridge the innovation gap”.
“Without this vital investment, development of these promising compounds might have been delayed for years,” agreed Dr Keith Blundy, chief executive of Cancer Research Technology.
The CPF was set up by Cancer Research UK’s commercial arm and the European Investment Fund.
Adam Hill
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