Oxford Drug Design hails new funding to further its cancer drug discovery aims
Oxford Drug Design's cancer treatment discovery aims have been boosted by grant funding from the MRC (UK Medical Research Council).
The spin-out company from Oxford University submitted a joint application with the CRUK (Cancer Research UK) Scotland Institute for the award, which will see genetically engineered mice used in a bid to validate a new approach to cancer therapy.
READ MORE: Drug design company receives over £8m in grant and equity investment
Oxford Drug Design is discovering innovative anti-cancer therapeutics supported by pioneering AI methods.
"We’re delighted that the potential of our novel anticancer compounds has been recognized with this award and are honoured to be working with CRUK Scotland Institute on this joint project," said Dr Paul Finn, the chief scientific officer (CSO) of Oxford Drug Design.
"The models developed by CRUK SI are world-leading and the project will be of great value in validating our innovative approach. This is only the first of further opportunities to advance novel compounds emerging from our proprietary GenAI discovery platform."
Professor Owen Sansom, director of the NMGN, CRUK Scotland Centre and CRUK Scotland Institute, added: "The goal of the MRC NMGN Business Engagement Fund is to foster collaborations between businesses and academic research teams, boosting the exchange of knowledge and promoting the development of feasibility studies and/or pilot projects to lay the foundation for strong collaborative grant proposals that drive innovation.
"I am delighted that this Fund has allowed researchers at Oxford Drug Design and the CRUK SI to partner in the development of new and better options for the treatment of cancer patients and look very much forward to the outcome of their research."
The MRC National Mouse Genetics Network is a Medical Research Council initiative that consists of multiple disease-focused clusters pursuing distinctive, but complementary research with the Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell, Oxfordshire acting as a central hub.
