A North East firm pioneering new treatments for early stage mouth cancers has secured a £1.1m grant from Innovate UK to bring its drugs to patients.
Newcastle-based LightOx has developed a drug it calls LXD191 which is applied to cancerous legions inside the mouth. When light is applied to the drug it causes toxicity, killing off cells in a way the firm says gives clinicians more control over the impact of chemotherapy. It can also reduce the effects on nearby healthy tissue.
LightOx will now work with Liverpool Head and Neck Centre, University of Liverpool - Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to finalise the drug formulation and clinical trial plans in a bid to ready the drugs for patients. The funding will be used to deliver a "chair-side" treatment for patients which the firm says is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery.
