Gene control company, Synpromics, has been awarded a £1.9 million research and development grant from Scottish Enterprise, which will be used to expand its R&D programmes in gene regulation for cell and gene medicines.
British money
This grant forms part of Synpromics R&D project (worth £5.4 million), which will initially create 11 new high-skilled jobs. Through this latest grant, Synpromics will expand and further develop its PromPT technology platform and create novel inducible promoter systems that can be applied across the biotechnology sector
Additionally, the funding will support pre-clinical evaluation studies in a range of disease models, allowing the company to identify the best use of its technology for the treatment of disease using advanced therapeutic regimes such as cell and gene medicine.
“We are developing technologies that facilitate the control of cell and gene therapies to be specific to cell and tissue types and responsive to either small molecules, biological environment or other stimuli,” commented Dr Michael Roberts, CSO of Synpromics. “With this technology, we enable the development of novel medicines for a range of devastating diseases where the current treatment options are limited or non-existent. This award will help fund Synpromics’ state-of-the-art research and build on the success of gene control technology programmes to date, focused on designing innovative cell and gene therapies for unmet medical needs.”
“Synpromics’ work has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people across the globe, and this latest project is a fantastic example of the company’s cutting-edge research in the critical field of revolutionary new gene therapies,” said Rhona Allison, interim managing director at Scottish Enterprise. “Innovation and innovative research is key to driving Scotland’s economic growth. Our R&D support not only recognises this project’s importance to Synpromics but also to the Scottish economy and Scotland’s growing global reputation as a hub for life science excellence.”