Innovate UK, the country’s innovation agency, keeps promoting technology in the British islands. The latest beneficiary is Sareum, a cancer specialist biotech with a strong autoimmune disease programme. The company received €195.5k to fight an early-age type of leukaemia.
T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is a rare type of leukaemia that most often occurs in late childhood and early adolescence. The disease, that affects T-cells, is aggressive and progresses quickly. Around 200 people are diagnosed with this type of leukemia in the UK every year.
According to the literature, TYK2 inhibition may embody a solution for treating leukemia. Sareum has previously demonstrated the efficacy of its lead TYK2 molecules in models of autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis, in collaboration with SRI International. This funding award will enable Sareum to further determine the feasibility of this novel approach.
The award is part of the Biomedical Catalyst, an integrated translational funding programme, jointly operated by the Medical Research Council and Innovate UK. The Catalyst model supports projects in priority areas where the UK research base has a leading position and where there is a clear commercial potential. Current Catalysts include, apart from the Biomedical Catalyst, Agri-tech Catalyst and the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst. Thanks to these three programs, United Kingdom expects to became a world leader in disruptive technology-based companies.