Date: 2012-11-05
Type of information: Grant
Company: Modern Biosciences (UK)
Investors: Biomedical Catalyst Fund (UK)
Amount: £1.6 million (€ 2 million)
Funding type: grant
Planned used: The award will provide support for Modern Biosciences’ lead anti-inflammatory programme, OsteoRx. The award will help fund the development of a candidate molecule in the OsteoRx programme to the point at which an Initial New Drug (IND) application can be filed, enabling the commencement of clinical studies.
Others: Modern Biosciences has been awarded a grant of up to £1.6 million by the UK government-backed Biomedical Catalyst. The award will provide support for Modern Biosciences’ lead anti-inflammatory programme, OsteoRx. The award was announced by Technology Strategy Board and is one of 32 projects awarded funding totalling £39 million. These are the first substantial awards made from the £180 million Biomedical Catalyst programme managed by the Technology Strategy Board and the Medical Research Council.
The aim of the OsteoRx programme is to develop a new treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The OsteoRx compounds offer a potential alternative to current treatments for RA, being orally administered and working via a novel mechanism of action that involves inhibition of molecular pathways implicated in both inflammation and bone degradation. The OsteoRx programme was licensed by Modern Biosciences from the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh in 2007. The programme comprises a series of orally available small molecules which are very effective in preventing arthritis in disease models. The compounds act via a novel and unique target within the cell to prevent the inflammation and bone damage associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Under the terms of Modern Biosciences agreement with the two universities, Modern Biosciences will fund and manage the development programme and share commercialisation revenues with the universities.
Therapeutic area:
