Antikor BioPharma has received £500k in funding from Innovate UK’s Transforming Cancer Therapeutics Programme for their R&D into ovarian cancer treatment
Antikor, an SBC-based business, has been awarded £496,767 of the £12 million Innovate UK grant for their innovative better penetrating antibody-drug conjugates that are being applied to ovarian cancer to potently activate the immune system more safely, for better patient outcomes. Twenty-three companies will benefit from a share of £12 million from the Innovate UK Cancer Therapeutics programme.
Dr Mahendra Deonarain, CEO of Antikor CEO, said:
“Antikor was one of the successful applicants to be awarded funding under the Innovate-UK Cancer Therapeutic Programme. This allows us to explore new avenues for our innovative antibody Fragment Drug Conjugate (FDC) technology. Hopefully we can add another product candidate to our pipeline.”
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.”
