PhotoBiotics’ awarded a TSB Biomedical Catalyst Early Stage Award
London, 1st June, 2013. PhotoBiotics have been awarded a Technology Strategy Board Biomedical Catalyst Early stage award to carry out a 2 year pre-clinical development study on a photo-active ADC for oesophageal cancer using its OptiLink™ platform.
The Technology Strategy Board (TSB)1 Biomedical Catalyst funding scheme is the government’s flagship scheme to support its biotechnology industry. The Early Stage award allows companies to take a proven technological concept and apply it in an area that could add value, intellectual property and opportunities for their business. It is a two-stage competitive process where less than third of the applications are funded and some 43 SME-led applications shared an overall pot of £47m for Round 2 of the scheme.
In collaboration with its academic partners at University College London’s National Medical Laser Centre (NMLC) and Imperial College London’s Dept of Chemistry, the PhotoBiotics-led consortium will develop an Antibody-Directed Phototherapy (ADP) approach to treat oesophageal cancer. The UK has the highest incidence of OA in the world with an estimated 8,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Of these 7600 patients die of their disease. The abysmal UK mortality rate, presently the 4th highest among cancers in men, has shown little improvement over the last 5 years2 due to a lack of treatment options. An ADP approach is less invasive than surgery, and will allow metastatic local lymph nodes to be treated. PhotoBiotics (led by Dr Deonarain) will produce the photo-active ADC, while Imperial College London (led by Dr Marina Kuimova) will investigate its photophysical properties and Dr Adil Butt at the NMLC (led Dr Laurence Lovat) will test the drug in pioneering oesophageal cancer preclinical models.
Dr Deonarain comments "This phenomenal award will allow PhotoBiotics to generate some real value from its proprietary antibody, drug and OptiLink™ conjugation platform in a disease that will benefit from the features of targeted photodynamic therapy. It shows our committed investors that we are progressing toward the clinic with a potentially superior product". Dr Lovat adds "This ADP approach meets a vital and growing clinical need in the UK for effective personalised oesophageal cancer treatments. We aim to use ADP in an out-patient setting, and for it to be applicable to the majority of patients. The minimally invasive nature of this treatment avoids the significant mortality and morbidity which accompany invasive surgery and chemotherapy."