The Cancer Therapeutics programme focuses on developing life-changing cancer treatments, including immunotherapies and vaccines. It also supports projects addressing unmet medical needs for treating childhood and young persons’ cancers.
The investment from Innovate UK will drive both early and later stage innovations in cancer therapies, building on UK economic potential in this field.
Industry-led research and development
£11.3 million will be shared by 16 projects led by small and medium-sized enterprises at various stages right from feasibility through to regulatory approval.
Targeting ancient mechanisms and interfering with proteins
Stimulating the immune system to attack cancers has been a major breakthrough in cancer therapy, meaning some patients are now surviving previously fatal cancers. True cures have remained rare, however, and many cancers only respond minimally, if at all.
Momentous Therapeutics has discovered a biochemical mechanism dating back to the earliest forms of life, that controls activation of the immune system. The company’s project is to develop a drug that releases this ‘biochemical brake’, realising the immense potential of cancer immunotherapy.
Revolver Therapeutics‘ project will involve identifying tiny proteins, known as peptides, that can enter cells to prevent specific cancer-causing proteins from binding to DNA within a child’s brain tumour. This phenomenon is strongly associated with high-grade childhood brain and spinal tumours. It is hoped that by interfering with these DNA-binding proteins, these cancers affecting children can be treated.
Feasibility studies
Seven organisations will receive a share of £700,000 to complete feasibility studies to develop new approaches in cancer therapeutics.
The companies participated in Innovate UK’s Oncology Accelerator, delivered by Lean Life Science in 2023 and co-funded by Cancer Research Horizons. Through a closed feasibility competition, they received follow-on financial support from Innovate UK to assess the technical and commercial viability of their early-stage projects.
The projects cover a range of cancers, including pancreatic, ovarian and breast, as well as immunotherapies aimed at stimulating patients’ immune systems to find and destroy cancer cells.
Enhancing and transforming
One of the successful companies is OligoTune. It will use its grant to enhance its immune system activating ribonucleic acid (RNA) technology to develop potent cancer therapies, aiming to improve the treatment of solid tumours.
Another, Galytx, is developing novel and potentially transformative therapeutic drugs for the most aggressive cancers. Their project will help them to accelerate their development strategy.
Turning breakthroughs into real-world solutions
Dr Stella Peace, Executive Director for the Healthy Living and Agriculture Domain at Innovate UK, said:
We’re pleased to be supporting business-led innovation at various stages of development, from projects progressing from our Oncology Accelerator, to SME-led collaborative research.
By driving business growth and supporting the development of transformative therapies, we’re enabling innovators to turn their breakthroughs into real-world solutions that make life better and fostering economic growth that benefits society as a whole.
Tackling cancer through innovative treatments
Minister of Science Patrick Vallance said:
Supporting researchers through this funding is an integral part of our mission to tackle cancer through innovative treatments that could benefit patients of all ages, and give innovative small businesses the support they need to scale-up the development of their groundbreaking ideas here, in the UK.
With Government backing for projects at every stage, the UK’s life sciences sector will continue to be at the forefront of research that is producing ground-breaking therapies that could be transformative for the thousands of people struggling with the disease up and down the country.
Diversifying the pipeline of safe and effective therapies
Dr Karen Spink, Head of Medicines at Innovate UK, said:
We are excited to see the diversity of businesses that have been supported through our cancer therapeutics programme. The industry-led R&D projects will advance transformative treatments for a range of cancers, including those that affect children and young people.
The early-stage feasibility awards will also enable the de-risking of promising innovations that have been nurtured through our oncology accelerator. Together, this portfolio of investments will diversify the pipeline of targeted, safe and effective therapies for cancer patients.
Further information
Industry-led research and development projects
Antikor Biopharma Ltd
Antikor’s innovative better penetrating antibody-drug conjugates are being applied to ovarian cancer to potently activate the immune system more safely, for better patient outcomes.
Funding award: £496,767
Cell Guidance Systems Ltd
Using microscopic protein drug crystals to turn white blood cells into Trojan horses to more effectively treat cancer.
Funding award: £302,786
Coding Bio Ltd
Novel messenger RNA-based cell therapy for childhood brain cancer.
Funding award: £606,814
Epitopea Ltd
Extending focus to stromal cells (which cancer cells use to help them grow and evade the immune system) and using these for vaccines and biologics against breast cancer and beyond.
Funding award: £501,408
Grey Wolf Therapeutics Ltd
Developing novel treatments for colorectal cancer patients by unmasking a novel set of ‘hidden’ tumour proteins for more effective targeting by the immune system.
Funding award: £498,557
Lentitek Ltd
Next-generation lentiviral production to enable advanced therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy for childhood malignancies.
Funding award: £295,025
Medannex Ltd
Collaboration with world-leading scientists and clinicians to prepare for clinical trials of a promising new medicine for childhood bone cancer.
Funding award: £231,040
Mestag Therapeutics Ltd
Mestag’s investigational cancer therapy triggers a specialised local immune response, resulting in potent anti-tumour activity preclinically, even in cancers that are typically unresponsive to therapy.
Funding award: £1,534,440
Momentous Therapeutics Ltd
Developing drugs targeting a most fundamental, ancient mechanism controlling immune activation, which will turbo-charge immune attack of tumours.
Funding award: £1,996,194
Pathios Therapeutics Ltd
Developing drugs to block a receptor (GPR65), unleashing the immune system to attack devastating brain tumours such as malignant glioma.
Funding award: £475,743
Prokarium Ltd
Cutting-edge bioengineering will create safe Salmonella bacteria that target tumours with customisable anti-cancer payloads, giving patients access to a new class of cost-effective treatments.
Funding award: £317,691
QV Bioelectronics Ltd
Creating implants to treat childhood brain cancer, aiming to help young patients live longer and improve their quality of life.
Funding award: £343,260
Revolver Therapeutics Ltd
Identifying tiny proteins, known as peptides, that can enter cells to shut down DNA-binding proteins strongly associated with high-grade childhood gliomas.
Funding award: £551,639
Sferola Ltd
Sferola Ltd is developing next-generation nanotechnology for paediatric brain tumours and partnering with University of Leeds to test its potential in their state-of-the-art preclinical models.
Funding award: £409,040
Theolytics Ltd
A novel phase one clinical trial for a next-generation oncolytic therapy targeting treatment of platinum-resistant high-grade serous ovarian cancer.
Funding award: £1,993,042
VacV Biotherapeutics Ltd
Developing a novel treatment for colorectal cancer using cancer cell-killing viruses, to eradicate tumours and prevent recurrence by boosting immunity to cancer cells.
Funding award: £499,486
Feasibility projects
Creasallis Ltd
Taking an initial proof of concept in a cancer model, using antibody-based therapeutics for solid tumours, to expand on their indications to accelerate a therapeutic towards clinical validation.
Funding award: £99,917
Galytx Ltd
Galytx is developing novel and potentially transformative therapeutic drugs for the most aggressive cancers. This project will accelerate Galytx’s development strategy.
Funding award: £99,682
Kargenera Ltd
The incidence of liver cancer is increasing faster than any other cancer in the UK. Kargenera is developing a new immunotherapy to tackle this devastating disease.
Funding award: £99,479
New Path Molecular Research Ltd
Making and testing novel molecules which have potential to treat pancreatic cancer and colon cancer to optimise their efficacy and reduce side effects.
Funding award: £99,835
OligoTune Ltd
Enhancing RNA technology with immune activation to develop potent cancer therapies, which aim to improve treatment for solid tumour patients.
Funding award: £98,218
Proteotype Diagnostics Ltd
Urine-based ‘multicancer early detection at home’ test using amino acid biomarkers already validated in plasma.
Funding award: £99,998
Xgenera Ltd
Optimisation and advanced development of miONCO-Dx, a blood-based, multi-cancer diagnostic test.
Funding award: £99,852
Top image: Mestag’s MST-0300 induces localised immunological powerhouses of anti-tumour immunity, leading to potent, orchestrated tumour cell killing in preclinical models. Credit: Mestag Therapeutics.
