A North East firm pioneering new treatments for early stage mouth cancers has secured a £1.1m grant from Innovate UK to bring its drugs to patients.
Newcastle-based LightOx has developed a drug it calls LXD191 which is applied to cancerous legions inside the mouth. When light is applied to the drug it causes toxicity, killing off cells in a way the firm says gives clinicians more control over the impact of chemotherapy. It can also reduce the effects on nearby healthy tissue.
LightOx will now work with Liverpool Head and Neck Centre, University of Liverpool - Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to finalise the drug formulation and clinical trial plans in a bid to ready the drugs for patients. The funding will be used to deliver a "chair-side" treatment for patients which the firm says is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery.
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Dr Sam Whitehouse, chief executive officer of LightOx Ltd, said: "We are delighted to have been successful in winning the Biomedical Catalyst grant from Innovate UK. This scheme is hugely competitive, and we have been through rigorous peer review and interviews over the last year in order to secure the funding. Our technologies, manufacturing processes, route to market and commercial development plans have all been scrutinised through the scheme and we are delighted that Innovate UK and the reviewers agree with our strategies.
"We feel that this is a great endorsement of LightOx’s world-class research in the area, and our plans to help oral cancer sufferers using new drugs and techniques. This is the next step in our journey to the wide-scale treatment of the disease where there is currently no medical intervention other than surgery.”
LightOx's funding comes from the Biomedical Catalyst programme which is designed to help innovative UK life science companies make scientific ideas into commercial reality. Prof Carrie Ambler, chief scientific officer of LightOx Ltd, said: "This Biomedical Catalyst grant allows LightOx to accelerate our drug development programme through the final pre-clinical phases whilst providing the financial capacity. Allowing us to work with our clinical and patient partners to develop a unique therapeutic solution for patients who suffer from mouth cancers and pre-cancers."
Dr Caroline McCarthy and Professor Richard Shaw, at the Liverpool Head and Neck Centre, added: "We are delighted to be collaborating with LightOx on this project which seeks to develop a novel approach for the treatment of oral epithelial dysplasia. This could provide a minimally invasive treatment option for patients at high risk of developing oral cancer. The prevention of oral cancer is a top priority, and we are committed to delivering world-class research for patient benefit."
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