8th Oct 2014 07:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - Imperial Innovations Group PLC said Wednesday that it has invested GBP1.9 million in oncology drug discovery company Kesios Therapeutics Ltd, taking a 48.4% stake.
Imperial's seed funding has been used to establish Kesios and appoint Alain Maiore as Chief Executive. The funds will enable Kesios to advance its pipeline of drug discovery and development programmes, develop its operational team and validate its broader therapeutic opportunities for its drug candidates.
Kesios is developing therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma and other blood cancers, and has identified a novel drug target "within a pathway that appears to be critical in promoting cancer cell survival in certain white blood cells of patients with multiple myeloma and other malignancies."
It is developing drug candidates that disrupt this target and show the potential to selectively kill cancer cells without causing toxicity to normal cells.
Kesios has separately received a grant from the Medical Research Council of up to GBP3.9 million in order to validate the modality and efficacy of its novel drug target, through the development of a distinct drug candidate to clinical proof of concept in multiple melanoma.
"Our investment in Kesios demonstrates Innovations' model of commercialising technology by bringing in high calibre management teams to work alongside outstanding academic research," said Manager of Healthcare Ventures at Innovation Dayle Hogg in a statement.
Shares in Imperial Innovations are untraded Wednesday. It last traded at 46.200 pence.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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