Grant will accelerate development and evaluate Trogenix’s SSE technology in liver hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer liver metastases
Edinburgh, UK, January 2024 – Trogenix Ltd (“Trogenix”) today announces that it has been awarded a grant from Innovate UK’s Cancer Therapeutics fund through its Investor Partnership programme. The grant will accelerate the development of Trogenix’s pioneering Synthetic Super-Enhancers (SSE) technology in the treatment of solid tumours.
The funding will support preclinical studies at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute in Glasgow, evaluating Trogenix’s innovative approach in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM). This expansion follows compelling proof-of-concept data in models of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), where the company’s technology demonstrated complete tumour eradication with no evidence of relapse.
Professor Steve Pollard, Chief Scientific Officer of Trogenix said,
“This prestigious Innovate UK award will catalyse our mission to transform cancer treatment from chronic disease management to potentially curative one-time treatments. Our AAV-SSE platform represents a significant advancement in precision cancer therapy, enabling exquisite control of therapeutic payloads specifically within cancer cells. With five-year survival rates of just 36% for HCC and 28% for CRLM, there is an urgent need for innovative treatments. We’re excited to work with the world-class teams led by Professor Owen Sansom and Professor Tom Bird at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute to evaluate our technology in these devastating cancers.”
The company’s proprietary SSEs are engineered DNA elements that act as docking stations for transcription factors uniquely expressed in aggressive cancer cells. This enables highly selective and potent gene control with multiple layers of safety, including direct tumour injection for localised delivery and self-limiting control mechanisms.
Through these SSEs, Trogenix’s platform delivers a comprehensive attack on cancer through combining controlled cell killing via targeted expression of cytotoxic payloads, with immune modulation, to overcome tumour-induced immunosuppression, and includes a unique ‘Trojan Horse’ approach that reawakens the immune system to provide long-term protection against recurrence.
About Trogenix
Trogenix unites cutting-edge technologies in genomics, oncology, immunotherapy, and gene therapy to create a revolutionary therapeutic approach through its Odysseus platform. Using proven AAV vectors, our proprietary Synthetic Super-Enhancers (SSEs) are delivered directly to tumour cells without detection. Our SSEs enable unprecedented precision in gene control, effectively revealing cancer to the body’s immune system and killing tumour cells. For any cells escaping Trogenix’s technology, our ‘Trojan horse’ can counter recurrence, offering potentially curative ‘one-and-done’ treatments for aggressive tumours. With our lead asset showing curative potential in preclinical glioblastoma studies, we’re poised to transform treatment paradigms across multiple cancer types and explore applications beyond oncology, such as regenerative medicine.
For more information, visit www.trogenix.com.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is creating a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. We provide targeted sectors with expertise, facilities and funding to test, demonstrate and evolve their ideas, driving UK productivity and economic growth. Join our network and communities of innovators to realise the potential of your ideas and accelerate business growth.
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For more information, please contact:
Trogenix Ltd. info@trogenixbio.com
Media and Investor Enquiries: trogenix@icrhealthcare.com