QV Bioelectronics, a company in Manchester, is making a new medical device to treat brain cancer. The first type of brain cancer it will treat is glioblastoma. This is the most common brain cancer in adults. Very few people diagnosed with glioblastoma live for more than a year. The standard treatment for glioblastoma has been the same for 30 years. It includes brain surgery, chemotherapy (drugs), and radiotherapy (x-rays).
A new treatment is electric field therapy, or tumour treating fields. It uses electricity to kill the cancer without harming the healthy brain. It is an approved treatment for brain cancer in the UK, Europe and USA. This method is up to ten times better than normal brain cancer treatments. However, there is only one device available currently to provide electric field therapy in glioblastoma. It has sticky pads that attach to the head and is powered by a battery in a backpack. Many people get rashes on their scalp from the pads. It is hard to keep the device running all the time to treat the cancer non-stop. It is also not currently available on the NHS. Patients in the UK must pay for the device themselves or have private health insurance that covers the cost.
QV Bioelectronics is building a new brain implant for electric field therapy called GRACE. As it is an implant, it stays hidden and can treat the cancer non-stop after surgery. GRACE is being built with help from surgeons, cancer doctors, patients and their carers. The first version of GRACE is almost ready for final safety tests and human use.
This research project will take 3 years. It has two main steps. The first is finishing the design and the final safety tests of GRACE. These tests will make sure the implant is safe to be used in humans and will be an effective treatment. The second step is using GRACE in humans for the first time in a small study. This study will take place in Cambridge and Edinburgh. It will include up to 4 patients with glioblastoma who have already tried standard treatments. QV Bioelectronics aims to make GRACE available through the NHS. Electric field therapy is a new treatment for glioblastoma and QV Bioelectronics wants to make it as accessible as possible. This will help to provide longer, better quality lives for brain tumour patients.
Diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) are an extremely aggressive childhood brain cancer with a global incidence of 0.8/100,000, with around 30 UK diagnoses yearly. There is no cure, and the median age of diagnosis is 7 years old, with a median survival of just 6 months, increased to 9 months with radiation therapy. There is a dire lack of treatment options. Due to the tumour location, surgery is not possible and there are no clinically proven chemotherapy drugs. Because of this, the 5-yr survival rate is just 2%, meaning it has some of the worst outcomes of any cancer.
There is a new form of treatment for brain tumours that has shown great promise in other aggressive brain tumours called electric field therapy (EFT). This therapy applies electric fields across the targeted area. When specific frequencies are used, it prevents cancer cell division with harming the healthy brain tissue. In glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumour in adults, it has increased 5-yr survival 4-fold when used alongside existing treatment. QV Bioelectronics are pioneering the first ever implantable EFT devices for glioblastoma for its existing platform. This project will focus on applying this same technology to create a DMG-specific implanted EFT device. The project focuses on pre-clinical efficacy testing and DMG-specific device prototype development. QV aim to integrate the DMG-device into its portfolio, expanding its technology to other brain tumours and creating a significant UK-based research and innovation hub, contributing to a global market opportunity exceeding £38Bn/year and reinforcing the UK's leadership in bioelectronics.
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary adult brain cancer. Global incidence is 3-5/100,000 persons and rising, with c.3000 UK diagnoses/year. There is no cure and the 5-year survival rate is ~3.4%.
Electric Field therapy (EFT) is a new form of cancer treatment applied after tumour resection that directly interferes with cell division, slowing tumour recurrence and prolonging life. However, the only available electrotherapy device for glioblastoma is not recommended for use on the NHS by NICE due to poor patient quality-of-life and low cost-effectiveness.
QV Bioelectronics (QVB) is developing GRACE, a first of its kind implanted EFT device. GRACE delivers EFT in a focal and continuous manner that will potentially double glioblastoma patient life expectancy, leading to up to 10-times higher 5-year survival rates whilst overcoming quality-of-life issues associated with the existing EFT treatment. QVB have demonstrated initial safety during preclinical development, with pre-clinical efficacy testing taking place in parallel to this project. As part of this project, QVB aims to carry out additional development steps to ensure GRACE will be ready for 1st in human trials in UK patients by the end of 2024\.
QVB's device is still undergoing pre-clinical development and will not be ready to be prescribed to patients for several years. QVB's technology will be expanded to other types of brain tumours in future, with our research and innovation hub creating a significant number of jobs in the UK, creating a combined global market opportunity worth over £3.9Bn/year. This will cement the UK's position as global leaders in the growing field of bioelectronics.
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary adult brain cancer. Global incidence is 3-5/100,000 persons and rising, with c.3000 UK diagnoses/year. There is no cure and the 5-year survival rate is ~3.4%.
Electric Field therapy (EFT) is a new form of cancer treatment applied after tumour resection that directly interferes with cell division, slowing tumour recurrence and prolonging life. However, the only available electrotherapy device for glioblastoma is not recommended for use on the NHS by NICE due to poor patient quality-of-life and low cost-effectiveness.
QV Bioelectronics (QVB) is developing GRACE, a first of its kind implanted EFT device. GRACE delivers EFT in a focal and continuous manner that will potentially double glioblastoma patient life expectancy, leading to up to 10-times higher 5-year survival rates whilst overcoming quality-of-life issues associated with the existing EFT treatment. QVB have demonstrated initial safety during preclinical development, with pre-clinical efficacy testing taking place in parallel to this project. As part of this project, QVB aims to carry out additional development steps to ensure GRACE will be ready for 1st in human trials in UK patients by the end of 2024\.
QVB's device is still undergoing pre-clinical development and will not be ready to be prescribed to patients for several years. QVB's technology will be expanded to other types of brain tumours in future, with our research and innovation hub creating a significant number of jobs in the UK, creating a combined global market opportunity worth over £3.9Bn/year. This will cement the UK's position as global leaders in the growing field of bioelectronics.
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary adult brain cancer. Global incidence is 3-5/100,000 persons and rising, with c.3000 UK diagnoses/year. There is no cure and the 5-year survival rate is ~3.4%.
Electrotherapy is a new form of cancer treatment applied after tumour resection that directly interferes with cell division, slowing tumour recurrence and prolonging life. However, the only available electrotherapy device for glioblastoma is not recommended for use on the NHS by NICE due to poor patient quality-of-life and low cost-effectiveness.
QV Bioelectronics (QVB) is developing a novel approach to deliver electrotherapy in a focal and continuous manner that will potentially double glioblastoma patient life expectancy, leading to up to 10-times higher 5-year survival rates whilst overcoming quality-of-life issues associated with the existing electrotherapy treatment. QVB has developed a working prototype and will perform pre-clinical safety testing as part of this Innovate UK funded project as well as working on other development aspects of their technology. QVB's device is still undergoing pre-clinical development and will not be ready to be prescribed to patients for several years. QVB's technology will be expanded to other types of brain tumours in future, with our research and innovation hub creating a significant number of jobs in the UK, creating a combined global market opportunity worth over £3Bn/year. This will cement the UK's position as global leaders in the growing field of bioelectronics.
I am the Principal Biomaterials scientist at QV Bioelectronics, and I am responsible for leading the development of the core technology.
Following my undergraduate degree in Applied Pharmacology, I completed my PhD in bioengineering which focused on biomaterial fabrication and characterisation for osteoarthritis. Utilising my previous expertise, in my role as Principal Biomaterial Scientist, I am now at the forefront of development of the innovative electrode technology which aims to tackle a real global healthcare challenge. I have led the complex development of the core electrode technology, for which I am one of the inventors. This electrode technology is part of our cutting-edge electric field therapy device called GRACE.
QV Bioelectronics is a Manchester based medical device start-up which is determined to deliver a treatment which provides a longer and better-quality life for brain tumour patients. Glioblastoma Multiforme is the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer in adults, and it has amongst the worst outcomes of any type of cancer. It is very difficult to treat; and despite intensive treatment including surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, patients live 14 months on average post-diagnosis. Moreover, it has a 5-year survival rate of <5%, which is in contrast is 89% for breast cancer.
Glioblastoma patients are in desperate need for more effective treatments, and at QV Bioelectronics our goal is to develop our device to provide pain-free, side-effect free treatment, while also increasing life expectancy. GRACE will be implanted during tumour resection surgery, directly into the cavity. From here, it will deliver electric field therapy continuously to the cancer cells. Electric fields are known to interfere with cancer cell division, slowing tumour progression and ultimately increasing life expectancy.
It is hoped that GRACE will provide a paradigm shift in the treatment of glioblastoma. Utilising advanced materials, the technology underpinning the GRACE device is designed to significantly extend patient life-expectancy without negatively affecting patient quality of life. GRACE is still at an early stage of development, and it will be several years before the technology is ready to enter clinical trials. The electrode technology is currently undergoing optimisation and characterisation, with a focus on technical de-risking.
QV Bioelectronics have an excellent multidisciplinary team in place and our vision is for GRACE to become integrated into the standard treatment of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients both in the NHS and internationally- making a real impact on glioblastoma patients outcomes worldwide.
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary adult brain cancer. Global incidence is 3-5/100,000 persons and rising, with c.3000 UK diagnoses/year. There is no cure and patient life expectancy is just 14-months post-diagnosis on average.
Electric field therapy is a new form of cancer treatment applied after tumour resection that directly interferes with cell division, slowing tumour recurrence and prolonging life. However, the single marketed device for glioblastoma is not recommended for use on the NHS by NICE due to poor patient quality-of-life and low cost-effectiveness.
QV Bioelectronics (QVB) are developing GRACE, a novel implant that delivers electric field therapy in a focal and continuous manner, potentially doubling glioblastoma patient life expectancy, leading to potential improved patient outcomes whilst overcoming quality-of-life issues associated with existing solutions. QVB is seeking to access partners in the US who have specialist knowledge, technologies and capital available to bring the GRACE device to market. QVB's device is still undergoing pre-clinical development and will not be ready to be prescribed to patients for several years. QVB's technology will be expanded to other types of brain tumours in future, creating a combined global market opportunity worth over £5Bn/year, whilst providing a new treatment for NHS patients. This will generate UK jobs and help to cement the UK's position as global leaders in the growing field of bioelectronics.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Even with the best available treatment, patients are only expected to live 14 months post-diagnosis. GBM is very difficult to treat, with the 5-year survival rate at 5%; by comparison, this figure is 89% for breast cancer. GBM patients are in desperate need for more effective treatments, and at QV Bioelectronics our goal is to develop an electrotherapy device to provide pain-free, side-effect free treatment to improve the clinical outcomes for GBM patients.
This Innovate UK funded project aims to conduct industrial research to support the development our medical device. The outputs of this project will be used to lay the foundations of the eventual clinical translation of our technology, bringing benefits to brain tumour patients worldwide.