PolyProx Therapeutics Secures £3.4M Seed Funding to Advance Protein Scaffold-Based Cancer Therapeutics

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that PolyProx Therapeutics recently completed a £3.4 million seed financing round. Led by Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) and RT Capital, the round will support the research of PolyProx’s drug candidates over the next two years.

PolyProx Therapeutics is a newly established biotechnology company focused on the research and development of novel biologics for cancer treatment. Reportedly, the company is a spin-off from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, with its research and intellectual property built upon more than a decade of laboratory achievements by its founder, Professor Laura Itzhaki. Her work involves linking target entities to degradation triggers via protein scaffolds to inhibit tumor cell development.

It is reported that PolyProx Therapeutics is currently developing a novel drug named Polyproxin molecules. This drug selectively targets pathogenic proteins within tumor cells, triggering intracellular natural degradation mechanisms to inhibit tumor growth. Clinical trials have demonstrated that the drug exhibits excellent therapeutic efficacy against cancers such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

According to the official website of PolyProx Therapeutics, all of the company’s products are developed on its POLYPROXIN platform. This platform identifies specific protein–protein interactions, enabling researchers to leverage protein stability networks to modulate protein stability and disease outcomes. Reportedly, POLYPROXIN offers four core capabilities: (1) integrating principles of protein engineering to gain in-depth insights into protein stability networks and mechanisms; (2) building protein structural models and curating databases of protein–protein interactions; (3) assisting scientists in identifying disease targets and pathways; and (4) degrading proteins.

Professor Laura Itzhaki, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of PolyProx Therapeutics, stated: “We are delighted to have completed our seed funding round, which will strengthen our R&D team and further advance our core technology over the next two years. Our protein degradation technology enables faster identification of target molecules for many refractory diseases compared to existing methods, holding promise for pioneering new therapeutic approaches in oncology.”

Sohaib Mir, Head of Cambridge Innovation Capital, added, “PolyProx’s technology encompasses a range of therapeutic targets for drugs currently under development, expanding the potential of the druggable proteome. Although the company is a start-up, we believe that PolyProx’s team can secure a place in the field of cancer drug therapy.”

Cambridge Innovation Capital, established in 2013 as an affiliate of the University of Cambridge, primarily invests in companies collaborating with the university. To date, the firm has completed 47 investments.

RT Capital is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada. Established in 1986, it provides investment management services to approximately 700 client accounts, the majority of which are institutional pension funds.

(Compiled by Feng Yutong)