The Babraham Institute receives strategic funding from the BBSRC
The Babraham Institute receives strategic funding from the BBSRC
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Babraham Bioscience Technologies Ltd (BBT) announces the first tenants for its new commercial building on the Babraham Research Campus. Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd, a drug-discovery research company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of pain, inflammation and obesity, will move into the customised, state-of-the-art facilities on 14 November 2005.
Named ‘Minerva’ after the Roman goddess of wisdom, the new building provides grow-on units for early stage bioventures as they make the transition out of incubation facilities. It is part of BBT’s innovative approach to supporting start-up and early stage biomedical ventures. Minerva is the first of three BioDevelopment buildings, offering flexible laboratory and office accommodation, which are anticipated will stimulate and facilitate the knowledge transfer process from research to commercial exploitation on the campus.
Dr David Hardman, CEO of BBT says, “The BioDevelopment buildings are the latest development in our Babraham Research Campus strategy to integrate a world class science base with innovative ventures exploiting new technologies relating to human healthcare. These new buildings enable companies to expand into new facilities on flexible terms, a unique proposition in the region. CBT has been highly productive since its inception in 2001 and we are delighted to welcome the company to Babraham.”
Dr Peter Richardson, Managing Director of CBT said, “Moving to new facilities at Babraham represents a major new phase in the growth of CBT. The new laboratories will provide CBT's drug discovery teams with excellent working conditions and will ensure optimal efficiency and safety for all its research staff. A location on the Babraham Research Campus also benefits from the proximity of a host of innovative biotech companies and prestigious academic groups which provides an optimal environment for a company such as CBT to thrive.” Cyclacel, the Dundee-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel, mechanism-targeted drugs to treat human cancers, has also moved into Minerva from Babraham's Bioincubator facilities.
Dr Richard Dyer, Director of the Babraham Institute and Chairman of BBT, adds: “These developments at Babraham underscore the pivotal role of the Babraham Research Campus (BRC) in the southern Cambridge biotechnology cluster. Through nurturing, from the earliest stage, bioventures that deliver innovation at the forefront of biomedical research, the campus plays an active part in supporting regional development and enhancing economic prosperity. The juxtaposition of companies with the Babraham Institute on the campus also allows synergistic relationships to flourish between academic and business communities, better enabling scientific advances to be brought to commercial realisation, and complements the internationally competitive research of the Institute.”
Contact details:
Dr Claire Cockcroft
Head, External Relations
Contact by email
Tel: +44 (0)1223 496260
Fax: +44 (0)1223 496002
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 335978
Notes for Editors
Babraham Bioscience Technologies Ltd is the wholly-owned subsidiary and trading arm of the Babraham Institute and is the managing company for the Bioincubator, BioConcepts and the commercial development of the Babraham Research Campus. Babraham BioConcepts is a technology accelerator assisting the establishment of new bioventures, supporting the translation of new biotechnologies into investment-ready opportunities. BioConcepts is part-funded by the East of England Development Agency as a Regional Enterprise Hub. Website: www.babraham.co.uk
The Babraham Institute is an independent charitable organisation, which receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, carrying out world-leading innovative research and advanced training with relevance to the biomedical, biotechnological, pharmaceutical and healthcare research and user communities. The Institute's research focuses on the mechanisms of cell signalling and gene regulation, which underlie normal cellular processes and functions, and on how their failure or abnormality may lead to disease. As such, Institute scientists are striving to find cures for conditions where there is currently no treatment or where the existing treatment is not fully effective or causes serious side effects. The latest technologies are being used to study the basis of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's, foetal abnormality and cancer. The commercialisation of the Institute’s research is managed by its trading subsidiary, Babraham Bioscience Technologies Ltd. The Babraham Research Campus is located six miles south-east of Cambridge.
Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd (CBT)
Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd (CBT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Biovitrum AB. CBT operates as an autonomous drug-discovery research company with a strategic focus in the discovery of novel therapeutics for the treatment of pain, inflammation and obesity. CBT was founded in May 2001 when a group of scientists from The University of Cambridge and Parke Davis/Pfizer Neuroscience Centre decided to create a small molecule drug discovery company.
Cambridge Biotechnology has been highly productive since its formation. The company quickly established a track record of effective and efficient drug-discovery which led to the acquisition by Biovitrum AB in April 2005. So far CBT have taken one compound for inflammatory pain from initial discovery through successful completion of phase I clinical trials. In addition the company has generated a pipeline of exciting compounds including novel leptin receptor agonists for the treatment of obesity.
CBT raised in excess of £10 million in venture capital financing and, on the strength of its scientific team and programmes, was acquired by Biovitrum in April 2005.
Website: www.camb-biotech.com
Cyclacel Group plc
Cyclacel is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel, mechanism-targeted drugs to treat human cancers and other serious disorders. Cyclacel's discovery engines integrate cell cycle biology expertise with a large library of gene-based targets, RNAi functional genomics, chemogenomics and clinical biomarker technologies to deliver new drugs.
The company is currently evaluating seliciclib (CYC202), an orally-available Cyclin Dependent Kinase inhibitor, in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and B-cell hematological malignancies. CYC682 is an orally-available, cell cycle modulating nucleoside analog in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. Cyclacel has eight additional programs at preclinical stages. Cyclacel has entered into corporate alliances with Altana, AstraZeneca, CV Therapeutics, GlaxoSmithKline, Lorus and Sankyo all in the oncology field and Genzyme in nephrology. Cyclacel is the first European university spin-out company to have raised more than $100 million in private equity.
Website: www.cyclacel.com
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