Project to improve cancer drug delivery gets green light

A collaborative project aiming to improve the way drugs can be delivered to cancerous cells has been given the green light thanks to an Innovate UK Smart Grant.

Sixfold Bioscience, in partnership with Medicines Discovery Catapult, will test the Programmable Oligonucleotide Delivery System (PODS) during an 18-month funded project.

PODS has been designed to deliver drugs directly to cancerous cells without impacting the healthy cells around it. It works by delivering short interfering RNA (siRNA) gene silencing cargo to specific cancer cells. The project will focus on preclinical assessment, delivery system validation, and informing the clinical development strategy.

The project will utilise the pre-clinical expertise and imaging facilities at Medicines Discovery Catapult and aims to accelerate the completion of a comprehensive preclinical data pack to pharmaceutical industry standards for rapid commercialisation and clinical advancement of Sixfold’s core platform technology.

Dr Anna Perdrix Rosell, co-founder and managing director of Sixfold Bioscience said: “We are thrilled to lead this collaborative project co-funded by Innovate UK. We are confident that by tapping into MDC’s unique drug development expertise and facilities, the collaboration will accelerate the preclinical development of our drug delivery system and its commercialisation. Our team’s ultimate goal is to unlock the true potential of siRNA therapeutics for cancer patients, and this collaboration takes us one step closer.”

Professor Peter Simpson, chief scientific officer at Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) added: “We are delighted to work with Sixfold Bioscience on the validation and development of this innovative drug delivery system. Drawing on MDC’s strong track record of advancing drug delivery modalities and of complex medicines validation, this new partnership has the potential to rapidly progress this delivery modality towards commercial viability.”