UK - Imperial portfolio company recieves £350,000 award

The award, one of the first since the TSB assumed responsibility for the Government's research and development programme, will enable PolyTherics to work with contract development organisation and biopharmaceuticals manufacturer Avecia Ltd. The companies will collaborate on a two-year £800,000 project that it is hoped will lead to the creation of effective, low-cost drugs for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome and muscular degeneration. The award follows on from an investment of £2.3m in June 2007, which was led by Imperial Innovations and included contributions from The Capital Fund and Longbow Capital.

PolyTherics has developed patent-protected proprietary technologies that are used to optimise the performance of pharmaceuticals. In particular, the company has developed a novel PEGylation technology known as TheraPEG, which can extend the half-life of novel and existing protein drugs. This means they stay active in the body for longer, enabling longer periods between doses which reduces both the cost and the potential side effects of treatments.

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