Scientists developing new drugs that could revolutionise the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis have secured major funding from a scheme that helps bring cutting edge research closer to the market place.
Their research is among four groundbreaking and innovative projects at the University of Aberdeen that have been awarded more than £700,000 worth of support from the NESTech University Challenge Fund.
The other three projects in development are:
• A sea sponge type of natural product that could lead to better drug delivery
• Safe novel insect repellents based on the body’s own natural repellent systems
• An exercise machine for rehabilitation of patients after illness or athletes after injury
This latest funding round brings the total sum to date received by the University of Aberdeen from NESTech to just under £1 million. Professor Dominic Houlihan, Vice-Principal of Research and Commercialisation, said: “We are delighted to receive this level of funding which illustrates the wide range of development projects underway. This is a striking endorsement of the world class research underway at the University of Aberdeen. “
Medicinal chemist Dr Iain Greig’s research was awarded just under £200,000 for the development of breakthrough drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr Greig, Commercialisation Fellow, said: “Around 1% of the population of the Western world suffers from rheumatoid arthritis – it is the leading cause of disability.
“However the biological agents currently used in the treatment of the disease are extremely expensive, costing about £10,000 per person per year. Because of the cost, only around 15% of people have access to these therapies - they are a tremendous drain on the NHS on their healthcare budget.
“What we have discovered is a series of novel drugs that do exactly the same as the expensive ones but at a fraction of the cost. We believe they have the potential to revolutionise the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis.”
Dr Greig hopes that patient trials involving the new drug could begin next year. A spin-out company to develop the drugs is also in the pipe-line.
Professor Marcel Jaspars and Dr Rod Scott have received £170,486 from NESTech for their work that involves synthetically creating a product that is similar to the natural toxins produced by sea sponges.
The scientists want to recreate these toxins as they are able to temporarily form pores in cell membranes through which molecules can pass. If the researchers can produce synthetic versions of these toxins they could be used to effectively deliver drugs into cells.
Professor Jaspars said: “Some drugs fail early on or late on in drug trials because they can’t get through the membrane of the cell. If they can’t get through how are they supposed to act? This is a waste of millions of pounds.
“Our tool could let small molecules through and could make drugs that had been discarded viable again.
“It could also be used for the delivery of genes or proteins to cells.”
Dr Scott added: “Sponges produce pore forming toxins as chemical defences against fish and microorganisms. This has allowed them to evolve over more than 1,000 million years. Natural products have proved very beneficial in drug discovery and useful toxins from marine organisms are coming of age.
“What we really need to do is get away from the sponges that produce a very complex cocktail of toxins and make our own well defined molecules that have similar properties.”
Professor Jenny Mordue, who is also Director of the University’s Graduate School within the College of Life Sciences and Medicine, received almost £201,000 for her research which is in collaboration with Professor John Pickett at Rothamsted Research in Harpendon. The pair are working on the development of a natural insect repellent.
She said: “The NESTech funding will allow us to continue our work into developing a human derived repellent to fend off biting insects such as midges and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes transmit some of world’s most devastating diseases such as malaria and dengue. Our repellent would be a completely new product to the market.
“The most effective repellents currently on the market contain active an ingredient which is synthetically produced and can have side effects, such as dissolving plastic. Some are not recommended for use on children or for long term continued use.
“A completely safe and natural product is urgently needed and that is what we are developing, based on the body’s own natural repellent systems.
“We have identified several compounds and are now trying to find the best mix. We are currently trialling these all around the world to see which defend best against different biting insects.
“Once we have completed gathering all our know-how we will be looking to license out.”
Dr Richard Neilson and Dr Marco Cardinale, who works for the British Olympic Association, were awarded £135,000 from NESTech to help with the completion of the prototype of a device that could help with the rehabilitation of patients after an accident or an illness such as stroke.
The device, which is similar to a typical weight training equipment but functions differently, could also help athletes with their training.
The device is the first of its kind and uses a vibration technique to stimulate muscles and bones. This would help rebuild muscle and bone strength and also help restore neuromuscular function following an injury.
Dr Neilson, a mechanical and biological engineer, said: “We plan to develop a rehabilitation machine that would be for use in hospitals. We believe the machine could also be bed mounted for bed-ridden patients. Our machine could also be used by physiotherapists and in the sports world where it could be used to help with training.”
Dr Cardinale, Research Manager at the Olympic Medical Institute and also Honorary Lecturer in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, said: “The NEStech fund will allow us to develop an innovative training and rehabilitation device that will be used by different populations: from the elderly to elite athletes.
“The project, a partnership between engineering and medical sciences, shows how good the interdisciplinary research programme carried out at the University of Aberdeen is. Furthermore it shows how elite sport and academic can work together to produce innovation which could benefit elite athletes. We will work to see a working device soon in gyms, hospitals and rehabilitation centres and will make sure British athletes will benefit from this novel technology in the future.”
The NESTech Fund was created through a University Challenge Fund award from the Office of Science and Technology, Scottish Enterprise and the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews and is run by Caledonia Capital Managers on behalf of the three Universities.
Funding from NESTech will allow each development programme to reach a stage where it can be spun out into a new company or becomes an attractive licensing opportunity.
NESTech has supported a number of other programmes at the University including visual rehabilitation after stroke, novel immunotherapies and innovative software for data mining. One of the programmes has already formed a spin out company (Blueflow Ltd) and the others are in the process of spinning out.