Nanoco Awarded Grant from Innovate UK for Major Life Sciences Project
MANCHESTER, England & CONCORD, Mass., July 5, 2017 – Nanoco Group plc (LSE: NANO), the leading developer and manufacturer of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, announced today it has been awarded a major grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to support its ongoing research into the use of quantum dot nanoparticles within cancer imaging.
The research project that has received the grant, entitled “VIVODOTS™ nano-devices for detection, resection and management of pancreatic cancers,” is a continued collaboration between Nanoco and University College London (“UCL”), the Group’s long time partner in the life sciences sector, and builds on the significant progress Nanoco’s Life Sciences team has made on in-vivo mapping of sentinel lymph nodes and breast cancer imaging.
The total value of the grant over the three-year project is £1.15 million, of which £807,815 is attributable to Nanoco and £345,439 to UCL. Nanoco will receive 60% of its share from Innovate UK in cash over the three-year period.
The proposed VIVODOTS™ nano-device will enable more effective pre, intra and post-operative management of pancreatic cancers, resulting in better surgical treatment, higher cure rates, and better quality of life for survivors. Later development should lead to the extrapolation of the same concept to other types of deadly malignancies.
“As a business, we are proud to be working with a number of commercial and research institutions at the cutting edge of the battle against cancer, and this grant is testament to the scope of our ambition in the life sciences sector and the value of our technology in the clinical arena,” said Dr. Michael Edelman, CEO of Nanoco Group. “In this exciting project, we will be working with UCL to develop a groundbreaking cancer imaging therapeutic nano-device that will enable better detection and treatment of lethal types of tumours, particularly pancreatic tumours. The design will be based on the use of biocompatible and fluorescent quantum dot nanoparticles equipped with specific cancer targeting molecules; a major innovation that has already proved successful in our initial trials.”
ABOUT INNOVATE UK
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. It works with people, companies and partner organizations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy.
For further information visit www.innovateuk.gov.uk
ABOUT NANOCO
Nanoco (LSE: NANO) harnesses the power of nano-technology to create a brighter, more sustainable future. Based on breakthrough science, Nanoco’s proprietary manufacturing process enables the large-scale production of its cadmium-free CFQD® quantum dots for multiple applications:
- LCD display, where Nanoco’s CFQD® quantum dots give consumers peace of mind to enjoy next-generation color performance and energy efficiency without allowing toxic chemicals into their homes.
- Lighting, where Nanoco’s CFQD® quantum dots are used in horticulture to safely speed plant growth.
- Healthcare, where Nanoco’s CFQD® quantum dots are opening new, potentially life saving uses in bio-imaging.
- Solar, where Nanoco’s CFQD® quantum dots are incorporated into printable solar inks for future thin, highly efficient and low cost solar cells.
Nanoco has non-exclusive manufacturing and marketing licensing agreements in display with The Dow Chemical Company, Merck KGaA of Germany, and Wah Hong Industrial Corporation of Taiwan. Through these partners and its own production facilities in Runcorn, UK, Nanoco is creating the world’s largest manufacturing ecosystem for cadmium-free quantum dots.
Nanoco was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with a US subsidiary, Nanoco Inc., in Concord, MA. Nanoco continues to build out a world-class, patent-protected IP portfolio generated both by its own innovation engine, as well as through acquisition. For further information visit: www.nanocogroup.com.
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Colleen Irish
Tier One Partners
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