TC BioPharm Announces Grant Funding in Collaboration with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)
TC BioPharm (Holdings) PLC, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing platform allogeneic gamma-delta T cell therapies for cancer, is proud to announce it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) to research the therapeutic potential of gamma-delta T cells for the treatment of mucosal infections. The collaboration recently received grant funding from The Impact Fund arm of QMUL. TC BioPharm will be working in conjunction with Dr. Neil McCarthy’s lab out of QMUL.
The project includes grant funding from The Queen Mary Impact Fund (QMIF) to finance the study. QMIF provides highly flexible and internally administrated funding to support knowledge exchange, acceleration of impact, and bridges the gap between UKRI-funded research (EPSRC, STFC, ESRC, and MRC) and benefits for society.
Dr. McCarthy’s lab studies host–pathogen interactions at mucosal surfaces, with a particular focus on gamma delta T-cells and their role in gut barrier protection against microbial infection and inflammation. The ultimate aim of this work is to understand how gamma delta T-cell function becomes dysregulated in infectious and inflammatory diseases and could potentially be restored by novel agonist / antagonist immunotherapies.
“We are grateful for the support from the Queen Mary University of London Impact Fund and appreciate Dr. McCarthy and his team taking this initiative on with enthusiasm,” said Bryan Kobel, CEO of TC BioPharm. “Dr. McCarthy’s lab is a leading institution in the gamma delta field focusing on gut health and microbial infections, a great area of interest for TCB. This is an exciting opportunity for our company and QMUL, the collaboration is a good starting point for both groups with the potential to extend into future engagements and asset spinoffs, while simultaneously expanding the TCB-008 platform into new indications. We believe the data set here and in future endeavors will further showcase the therapeutic benefit of the gamma delta T-cells centering around their role in immunotherapy’s future.
“My team is excited about working with TC BioPharm to explore the anti-microbial potential of γδ cell therapies,” stated Dr. McCarthy. “Our data suggests this could be a promising approach to preventing gut barrier damage in context of mucosal infection and inflammation. We look forward to learning more from this new collaboration and exploring novel routes for translating γδ cell potency into the clinic.”
The QMUL Enterprise Investment Fund
The QMUL Enterprise Investment Fund has been launched, offering the chance to invest in new technologies and innovations developed by academics and students at QMUL. The Fund will offer tax reliefs for individual investors under the government’s tax efficient SEIS and EIS schemes, and it is expected to appeal particularly to alumni and other investors interested in investing in new businesses arising from QMUL research and innovation. The Fund will be managed by Javelin Ventures Limited, an experienced FCA-regulated fund manager, and will benefit from a highly experienced Investment Advisory Committee comprising respected entrepreneurs and investors from across technology sectors.