Managed funds
NESTA has been appointed as the fund manager of the Kinetique Biomedical Seed Fund.
The Kinetique Fund is a University Challenge Seed Fund (UCSF) providing start-up funding for the development and strategic management of spin-out companies from King’s College London and Queen Mary, University of London.
The Kinetique Fund was established in 1999 and invests in technologies relating to the biomedical sciences - this includes the development of therapeutics, drug-delivery systems, diagnostics, devices, biomaterials and IT related to healthcare.
Kinetique Fund portfolio
Cerogenix is a drug discovery and diagnostics company focused on neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury.
The company was formed in 2005 to commercialise the breakthrough technology of Dr Adrian Pini of King’s College London, who identified novel biological agents that diffuse from damaged brain areas and kill healthy neurons.
Immune Regulation was established to develop and commercialise the patent protected research of Professor Gabriel Panayi and colleagues at King’s College London. This research is based on the human stress protein BiP, an autoantigen in rheumatoid arthritis.
Bip has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties in mice. The company is carrying out work funded by a major pharmaceutical company, and is planning clinical trials in 2009.
Neurotex is developing a new generation of nerve repair. The company combines the neuroscience expertise of Professor John Priestly of Queen Mary, University of London, and the materials expertise of Oxford Biomaterials, which has developed a new material based on high-strength modified silk called Spidrex®.
This has resulted in a patented product range suitable for peripheral and central nerve repair. Results of animal studies have proved extremely interesting.
Odontis is developing a biological replacement tooth product - the BioToothTM. Odontis has been formed around research, carried out by Professor Paul Sharpe at King’s College London Dental Institute, which has demonstrated that tooth development can be initiated in stem cells, and that fully-formed teeth can be created in developmental models.
This research represents one of the very few examples of a fully-integrated tissue-engineered organ. The technology opens the potential for the implantation of cultured cells in patients to grow and replace missing or damaged teeth.
OSspray is developing bioactive glass powders, which can fulfil the primary dental hygiene needs of cleaning, de-sensitising and whitening of teeth. OSspray is a joint spin-out from King’s College London and Imperial College, led by Dr Ian Thompson.
OSspray’s powders are designed for use in air polishing equipment, by dentists and hygienists in the preventative dentistry, oral hygiene market. OSspray’s first product, a cleaning powder, has FDA approval and will soon be launched in the US.
TheraGenetics is a personalised medicine diagnostics company, based around the work of the late Professor Robert Kerwin at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, which is leading the way in the use of pharmacogenetics in central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
The company’s focus is in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD and mood disorders. TheraGenetics is developing and commercialising a portfolio of pharmacogenetic diagnostic tests to guide and improve the treatment of these disorders, matching the medication to the person.
Vaxome aims to develop a commercially attractive vaccine delivery technology that has the potential to address unmet medical needs in the field of immunotherapy.
The technology is based on long-term research on MHC class I antigen presentation from the laboratory of Professor Ping Wang at Queen Mary, University of London.