UK life sciences gains £93 million backing
pharmafile | July 31, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | BIA, DMD, life sciences
The UK life sciences sector has been given a new £93.2 million package of support by the government to help shore up the biotech industry and encourage innovation.
The investment includes £25.9 million from round three of the Biomedical Catalyst funding programme, with 29 companies and five universities receiving investment from the Catalyst.
Projects include clinical trials to ‘repurpose’ a cancer drug that could be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, and an implant to reduce pain and restore mobility to knee cartilage injuries.
In a boost to the biomedical industry, the government has also announced that a new £38 million National Biologics Manufacturing Centre will be based in Darlington.
The centre that will be funded through investment announced as part of the life sciences strategy, will be a national base for the manufacturing of biological medicines such as antibodies and vaccines.
To complete the package of support, a further £29.3 million of investment in healthcare will support businesses in areas such as stratified medicine and regenerative medicine.
As part of the recent Spending Review it was announced that there will be additional support for the Catalyst – round four of the funding programme is now open for applications.
Steve Bates, BioIndustry Association chief executive, said: “Today’s announcement enables 35 innovative projects to move forward. They range from new therapies for genetic disorders, to advanced cell therapies, to vaccines of the future and new methods of tackling drug resistant bacteria – reflecting the vibrancy and variety of the UK biomedical ecosystem.
“The Biomedical Catalyst – a growing brand in global biotech – is also enabling UK biotech entrepreneurs to showcase their innovation to the world. Having the scheme as an investor in your company de-risks your idea for other investors and enables UK companies to develop the therapies of the future faster.”
New funding
The £25.9 million package is being split up into three areas, with £7.3 million being invested in four companies looking to develop personalised approaches to healthcare, known as stratified medicine.
Just over £5.6 million will be invested in five business led collaborative projects looking to develop new diagnostic tests for tuberculosis. These will allow healthcare staff to get rapid results when testing and has resulted in an additional £2.9 million in private sector investment.
An £8.4 million investment has also been made by the Technology Strategy Board in seven companies and business led consortiums exploring healthcare solutions in regenerative medicine and cell therapy.
These businesses will look at using cells to develop treatments for a range of conditions including strokes and surgical procedures. The funding has attracted a further £5.1 million in private sector investment.
One firm that received this latest round of funding is Summit, which will use the money to help advance a utrophin modulating drug into patient clinical trials for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a fatal genetic disease affecting around 1,500 boys and young men in the UK.
The trial aims to establish clinical proof of concept for the candidate and validate it as a viable therapy. The funding direction is novel for this scheme as cash is coming from the Biomedical Catalyst, private investors and patient group funding.
The Biomedical Catalyst is a joint £180 million Technology Strategy Board and Medical Research Council programme, which offers funding to SMEs and academics in the life sciences sector.
Ben Adams
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