Public Funding for Nanosyrinx Ltd

Bacteria are excellent cell biologists: they have been manipulating animal cells for over 2 billion years, whereas humans have been doing so for just a few decades. Bacteria, therefore, have much to teach us. We have discovered that certain bacteria produce a remarkable 'molecular syringe' which is pre-loaded with specific 'cargo' proteins that they use to manipulate the cellular activity of host animals. They represent a very efficient and elegant system, self-assembling inside the bacteria before being released into the surroundings. Once out, they recognise their specific "target" animal cells using antibody-like arms, generally known as 'binding fibres'. They bind to the surface of the cell and inject their cargo protein directly into the interior. Protein-based drugs, so-called biopharmaceuticals, have transformed the industry over the last 20 years to become a major constituent of the current therapeutics toolbox with a huge revenue value. However, with only a handful of exceptions, it is extremely difficult to deliver functional proteins directly inside cells of interest, severely hampering their utility. For example, monoclonal antibodies which, as the most recent revolution in biopharmaceuticals represent the majority of drugs, predominantly bind extracellular or cell surface targets. Current estimates predict that we have only drugged as little as 10% of the total human protein complement, and most of these are cell surface. Various strategies do currently exist for getting proteins into cells, but they typically suffer serious limitations. For example, nano-technology derived chemical polymers are typically untargeted and cannot deliver a well-defined dose of cargo proteins. The defined cargo dose and specific cell targeting binding fibres of our 'nanosyringe' technology, means they can more elegantly fulfill the unmet need for delivery of proteins into the cell. Essentially acting like tiny hypodermic syringes, able to directly inject useful proteins across the otherwise impermeable cell membrane. Proteins govern the majority of activities in a cell, acting as the "molecular engine" running most cellular processes. Our modified nanosyringes will allow us to "get under the hood" of the cell, delivering the necessary protein 'components' required to either repair or kill cells exhibiting unwanted disease states, such as cancer. Ultimately, we aim to develop this first-of-its-kind delivery vehicle to improve therapeutic outcomes in human health, and to facilitate cutting edge bioscience such as gene engineering, stem cell research and much more.