Redx Oncology opens in Liverpool

Published: 3-Apr-2012

Cancer research and development firm is a spinout from Redx Pharma

A pioneering cancer research firm has opened in Liverpool, UK.

Redx Oncology, a subsidiary of early stage drug development company Redx Pharma, which is already in Liverpool, has been supported by £5.9m from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

The new firm will initially be based at the University of Liverpool, but will move to a new £28m BioInnovation Centre, which is due to open in 2014.

This Centre is a partnership between the Royal Liverpool Hospital, the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. It will have 70,000ft2 of lab space and was granted planning permission last month.

Redx Oncology has so far created 120 jobs in Liverpool comprising chemists, analytical scientists, biology scientists, administrative staff and up to 24 trainees.

It starts life with a five-year programme based on Redx Pharma’s pipeline of research cancer drugs, which cover a variety of cancer types, and will deliver a flow of experimental drugs for progression into human clinical trials.

‘Our approach is based on modifying existing drugs to create novel therapies which have their own IP value,’ says Dr Neil Murray, chief executive of Redx Pharma.

‘We have created a substantial library of original compounds. A significant number of these compounds have passed the proof of concept stage. They promise a variety of patient benefits such as greater efficacy, fewer side effects or offer a different means of delivery – a pill, for example, as opposed to an injection.’

The company's Redox Switch technology is at the heart of this process. It allows for rapid assessment of new drug candidates, which can go forward to development programmes with lower risk and greater speed through clinical trials.

‘We’re a discovery engine for big Pharma,’ says Murray.

In addition to its cancer portfolio, Redx Pharma has a pipeline of new compounds in several other therapeutic areas including cardiovascular medicine, influenza and antibiotics.

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