MDC invests £1m in biotech approaches to autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease
Two UK biotechs developing new approaches to chronic autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases have each secured £500,000 from the Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) to accelerate development of their therapeutic platforms.
Flip Therapeutics and Nascent Therapeutics will also receive translational drug discovery expertise and access to MDC's network of scientific and commercial advisers and partners. The investment comes from funding provided by Innovate UK through a scheme enabling Catapults to invest in high-potential companies.
Flip Therapeutics is developing a platform intended to reprogramme T cells directly within the body, with the aim of producing longer-lasting control of immune responses involved in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases including alopecia areata and psoriasis.
T cells play a central role in regulating immune responses, and disruption of specific T-cell populations can contribute to inflammation and damage to healthy tissue. Flip's approach aims to reprogramme disease-driving T cells in vivo into anti-inflammatory cells, potentially both reducing harmful immune activity and restoring protective immune function at the site of disease.
The company will use the funding to validate therapeutic payloads, integrate them with nanoparticle delivery technology and investigate whether in vivo T-cell reprogramming can form a scalable therapeutic platform. Co-founder and CEO of Flip Therapeutics Dr David Pajerowski said the combination of funding and specialist expertise would allow the company to focus on experiments aimed at validating its approach.
The second investment beneficiary is Nascent Therapeutics, a University of East Anglia spin-out developing therapies based on mitochondrial biology. Its initial focus is Parkinson's disease, with potential applications in other neurodegenerative and age-related conditions.
Mitochondria are responsible for generating cellular energy but also play roles in metabolism, inflammation and oxidative stress. Their function can decline with age, potentially contributing to cellular damage and disease.
Nascent is developing a platform designed to regulate mitochondrial transfer between cells through the formation of tunnelling nanotubes. These structures allow cells to exchange mitochondria and other cellular components, and the company is investigating whether increasing and restoring this process could provide a route to disease-modifying treatments.
A growing body of evidence suggests that mitochondrial transfer may have a role in ageing and diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, according to the company.
Stuart Wood, co-founder and CEO of Nascent Therapeutics, said: "With this funding, we will develop our pipeline and platform as we work to develop truly novel therapies for Parkinson's and other ageing diseases."
MDC is co-investing in Nascent alongside the venture builder Zinc. The Catapult's support is intended to combine capital with translational expertise and strategic guidance, helping both companies reduce development risk and progress their respective platforms towards potential clinical applications.
The investments form part of Innovate UK's wider effort to provide capital and specialist support to high-potential UK businesses through the Catapult Network.
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