Fourteen commercially-focused regenerative medicine research projects are to benefit from nearly £8.5 million of government grant award funding. Ten of the collaborative projects will address generic challenges in the development of cell based therapies, and will lead to demonstrators with commercial applicability. Four projects will engage in the development of regenerative medicine therapeutics. The investment in the projects, part of the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) managed £21.5 million Regenerative Medicine Programme, will see funding from the TSB, the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The news of funding for these projects came on the same day that the Prime Minister announced other measures to boost the UK’s life sciences industry, including the
setting up a £180 million catalyst fund. Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the TSB said: “The UK is a world leader in regenerative medicine, with a strong academic science base and a supportive clinical and regulatory environment. For UK businesses to fulfil their potential in this field, gaining a commercially competitive edge and exploiting promising discoveries, a number of development challenges need to be overcome.
This is why we launched the Regenerative Medicine Programme, to underpin and enable the best regenerative medicine businesses in the UK and build a connected regenerative medicine community.”
The fourteen projects will be led by: Altrika Ltd, Asymptote Ltd, Cell Medica Ltd, CellSeed Europe Ltd, Cellzome Ltd, ImmunoSolv Ltd, Intercytex Ltd, Kirkstall Ltd, Lonza Biologics, Neotherix Ltd, Orthox Ltd, Plasticell Ltd, Stabilitech Ltd and TAP Biosystems.