Dr Ashish Dhir of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer is researching a new immunotherapeutic strategy against cancers such as glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, and the “triple negative” form of breast cancer, which commonly has worse outcomes than other forms of breast cancer.
As one of two awards made by beLAB1407, Dr Dhir’s research team has received funding to progress inhibitors of PNPase towards drug development. PNPase is an enzyme that Dr Dhir has shown to play a role in how the body’s immune system fights cancer.
I’m truly honoured to receive this funding from beLAB1407 that will drive our fundamental research towards drug development, an important leap towards the clinic. As an early career researcher, this is a fantastic endorsement of the research vision and exciting science in my lab.“
Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb backing
BeLAB1407 was established in May 2021 by German drug development company Evotec and US pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb to advance drug discovery opportunities at the Universities of Edinburgh, Birmingham, Dundee and Nottingham.
Edinburgh Innovations helped bring together the commercial and academic partners to establish beLAB1407, and has since worked with the beLAB1407 team and Edinburgh academics to establish suitable projects to benefit from the lab’s support.
The drug discovery capability at the University of Edinburgh is truly world class. We are thrilled that this has been recognised and supported as one of the first BeLAB1407 funded projects. This award is an important step towards taking the University’s research from bench to bedside.“
Product options
BeLAB1407 has the option to own majority rights in any product emerging from the research, with the University taking a minority share.
BeLAB1407 has announced it will also fund a project at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. This project aims to develop novel small molecule inhibitors targeting an epigenetic reader associated with the survival of cancer cells.
BeLAB1407, whose name references the distance in kilometres from Land’s End to John O’Groats, is the latest of Evotec’s Biomedical Research, Innovation & Development Generation Efficiency (BRIDGE) projects which the company has established across Europe and North America.
I am very pleased to initiate our first project at Edinburgh with Dr Dhir. This is truly exciting science and I am looking forward to working together, within beLAB1407, to move this towards the clinic.“
Drop-in sessions for Edinburgh researchers
A series of monthly beLAB1407 drop-in sessions began in October 2021, where researchers can share their early-stage ideas with Evotec’s Dr Mark Slack, who will discuss the route to receiving beLAB1407 support.
Edinburgh Innovations’ Business Development team is happy to discuss any potential applications and organise follow-up conversations with Professor Scott Webster, the University’ academic lead on the beLAB1407 programme, and Dr Slack.
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