A Newcastle company says it has made breakthroughs in the treatment of early-stage mouth cancers on the back of an Innovate UK funding programme.
Based in Newcastle city centre, LightOx uses technologies to develop light-activated treatment that can improve outcomes for patients and reduce the need for surgery. As well as a drug development arm, the company has a research tools business that sells products for research purposes.
With funding from Analysis for Innovators (A4I), a grant funding programme run by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, the company is developing new light-activated chemotherapy for the treatment of early-stage oral cancer. It is the first of its kind in the UK and is currently completing pre-clinical testing. The company’s new class of light-activated chemotherapy should be administered by dentists or trained clinicians, who will apply a gel to the affected area and activate the drug with light. LightOx directors say the ground-breaking treatment is quick, simple and involves fewer side effects than surgery.
