Vector Bioscience boosted by £2.2m Horizon Europe funding for RNA therapies

Vector Bioscience, a Cambridge University spin-out focused on nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles, has received a £2.2million non-dilutive investment from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition Challenge to commercialise its RNA-based cancer therapies.

Funded within the Horizon Europe programme, the EIC is Europe’s leading innovation programme to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies. In particular, transition grants provide funds to further advance research results in the laboratory to make more mature applications and catalyse commercialisation.

Founded in 2021, Vector Bioscience has emerged from more than 15 years of research in innovative materials and drug delivery by a group led by Prof David Fairen-Jimenez from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge.

The Hauser Forum-based company has developed a technology platform with the potential to become the go-to solution in the targeted delivery of macromolecules – particularly RNA delivery.

The technology is based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), nanoparticles that carry RNA molecules, like a shuttle for pharmaceuticals. MOFs display different advantages – firstly they offer controlled release of the RNA macromolecules, improving safety and selectivity. Moreover, MOFs protect the RNA from degradation and increase their solubility and bioavailability. Overall, Vector’s technology has shown promising results treating complicated cancers, including hard-to-treat tumours in the brain, lung, and pancreas.

Vector Bioscience had already been awarded £500,000 from Innovate UK. Now, with the additional assets from the EIC, Vector has secured a stable source of non-dilutive funding to design and develop its RNA delivery platform, with applications across different diseases, and especially hard-to-treat cancers.

Vector aims to become the first company to take the promising platforms of MOF-based technology for RNA delivery into the pharmaceutical market.

David Fairen-Jimenez, professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and CEO at Vector Bioscience, says: “RNA therapies are, potentially, the most powerful cancer drugs.

“However, their targeted delivery remains a challenge. Our preliminary studies in vitro and in vivo have showcased the outstanding possibilities of our platform, leading to excellent efficacies with outstanding biocompatibility. Now, the EIC Transition Challenge funds will help us take these discoveries to the clinic.”

Lluna Gallego Segrelles, COO at Vector Bioscience, adds: “Within just 18 months, we have attracted over £3m in funding to commercialise our technology.

“This demonstrates there’s an immense interest around our drug delivery platform, which will bring the latest innovations in materials science to the pharmaceutical industry and the clinic.

“Now, our objective is to push our pioneer treatments into pre-clinical phases.”