California-based CV6 Therapeutics has chosen to partner with the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen’s University, Belfast for a new R&D project that will create 10 research jobs.
The project is aiming to develop a new drug with the potential to make chemotherapy more effective and is part funded by the Northern Ireland’s investment authority, Invest Northern Ireland, which has contributed £2.5m to the fund.
Used as a treatment for those suffering with cancer, chemotherapy has a number of issues that can arise during its use, but this new funding will look to develop a drug that will not allow a person’s immune system to develop a resistance to the medication.
This latest announcement adds to the growing momentum of successful academic-industrial partnerships being forged at the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen’s University Belfast.
Aside from the obvious medical benefits the investment will make, Invest NI says that it will deliver supply chain economic benefits to Northern Ireland in the region of £1.85m.
Dr Robert Ladner, CEO of CV6, said of what this funding will achieve: “The R&D we will undertake during this project has the potential to significantly improve chemotherapy treatments in a wide range of cancers by overcoming key resistance pathways associated with these cornerstone drugs and in turn deliver significant economic benefits and advancements in cancer treatments worldwide.”
Cancer research image via Shutterstock
