LIfT BioSciences, a London-headquartered biotech focused on neutrophil immunotherapies, announced on 29 July 2025 that it had secured a €12 million grant from Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).
The funding, the largest awarded by the DTIF to date, will support a first-in-human clinical trial of LIfT’s Immuno-Modulatory Alpha Neutrophils (IMANs) — engineered cells designed to overcome tumour resistance in hard-to-treat solid cancers.
The funding will support an investigator-initiated clinical study in patients with metastatic cervical or head and neck cancers who have exhausted all standard treatment options.
The study, expected to commence in Q4 2026, will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Galway and Hooke Bio. The trial will initially evaluate safety and dosing, followed by expansion into combination therapy with checkpoint inhibitors.
“This award is a major milestone that underscores the potential of IMANs to change the trajectory of cancer treatment,” said Alex Blyth, CEO of LIfT BioSciences.
“It also supports our clinical and manufacturing expansion in Ireland and strengthens our Series A fundraising efforts.”
Irish Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke, highlighted the selection of LIfT’s N-LIfT project as a signal of the DTIF’s commitment to backing disruptive technologies capable of addressing significant healthcare challenges.
The project unites LIfT’s immunotherapy platform with Galway’s clinical and manufacturing capabilities and Hooke Bio’s “Mera” analytics platform, designed to improve therapy response prediction.
The collaboration aims to unlock the potential of neutrophils—traditionally viewed as short-lived immune responders—as scalable cell therapies.
In a separate development, also announced on 29 July, Centauri Therapeutics, based in Alderley Park, UK, confirmed an additional $5.1 million in funding from CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) to advance its ABX-01 programme.
This immunotherapy based broad-spectrum antimicrobial targets drug-resistant Gram-negative lung infections. The funding brings CARB-X’s total investment in the programme to $12.3 million since 2019.
ABX-01, derived from Centauri’s proprietary Alphamer platform, combines direct antimicrobial activity with immune system activation through complement fixation and phagocytosis. The candidate is expected to enter first-in-human trials in early 2026.
“CARB-X’s continued support has allowed us to transition seamlessly from discovery to clinical development,” said Dr Jennifer Schneider, CEO of Centauri Therapeutics.
“ABX-01 addresses a pressing need for new options against drug-resistant pathogens in vulnerable patient populations.”
Together, these funding announcements mark a significant step forward in the clinical translation of novel immunotherapies and underscore the growing importance of public-private partnerships in driving innovation at the earliest stages of drug development.