April 2001
QUGEN THERAPEUTICS PTE. LTD
A new gene therapy company combining technologies from the UK and Singapore.
A new gene therapy company, Qugen Therapeutics Pte. Ltd (Qugen) has recently been launched by Cancer Research Ventures Ltd (CRV), King’s College London (KCL) and the National Cancer Centre, Singapore (NCC) with funding from Singapore-based Growth Capital Pte. Ltd. Qugen, based in Singapore but with research also being undertaken in the UK, will focus on the development of novel concepts in the field of gene therapy and the transformation of these into clinical reality for the cancer patient.
Initially Qugen will be developing three exciting new technologies, each of which will have a major impact on the clinical application of gene therapy:
“Magrecon”- a series of methods designed to produce the highly concentrated delivery vectors needed for gene therapy;
“Fusagene” – a method that allows the co-ordinated expression of more than one gene which makes the clinical application of combination gene therapy a realistic option;
“Liposin” – a novel, non-viral, lipid based delivery system that overcomes problems associated with traditional viral delivery systems and will allow gene therapy to be more widely used in the future.
Qugen is developing these systems towards clinical trials and will license technology rights to other organisations developing a wide range of gene therapy products. In addition, Qugen will be developing its own proprietary gene therapy products to treat cancer patients world wide.
“Magrecon” and “Fusagene” are the result of research by scientists in the Department of Molecular Medicine at KCL using funding from the UK’s Leukaemia Research Fund and Lewis Family Charitable Trust. “Liposin” was developed by scientists from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Research, NCC and was funded by the Singapore National Science and Technology Board.
Professor Hui and Professor Farzaneh, Chairman and Director of Qugen respectively commented that they “are particularly pleased that the potential of these technologies to the field of gene therapy has been realised by CRV, KCL and NCC. With the funding provided by Growth Capital Pte. Ltd, Qugen will be able to bring a unique clinical focus to this area, allowing it to develop technologies and products that will be widely used in the clinical setting”.
CRV together with KCL and NCC have worked to commercialise Professor Farzaneh and Professor Hui’s research and to establish Qugen. Qugen has been granted an exclusive worldwide license by CRV and NCC to all the patent rights covering the Magrecon, Fusagene and Liposin technologies. Qugen will use its funds to advance these and other technologies into the clinic and develop its intellectual property base.
CRV’s Dr Guy Heathers commented that “this is clearly an exciting opportunity for us all, in particular in bringing together research from different institutes and different countries. We hope that this will be the beginning of a long and fruitful development in this field for the benefit of the cancer patient”.
Notes to the Editor
Cancer Research Ventures Ltd (CRV) is a technology transfer and development company established by The Cancer Research Campaign in the UK to provide technology transfer services to cancer researchers on a world wide basis. CRV, and its forerunner CRCT, have been providing these services to UK researchers since 1987 and have recently expanded the business into Europe and now further afield through its affiliate company Biotech Research Ventures in Singapore. CRV has been instrumental in establishing a number of successful biotech companies in the UK.
King’s College London (KCL) is one of the oldest and largest of the colleges of the University of London with some 12,200 undergraduate students and over 4,100 postgraduates in ten schools of study. The College is among the UK’s top four higher education institutions for the number of highest-rated research areas and in the top five for research earnings having research income in excess of £80 million and turnover of £285 million per year. It is the only university to be awarded both the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement (1995) and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (2000) in respect of its earnings from overseas for research, consultancy services and international student services.
National Cancer Centre, Singapore (NCC) was established in 1996 as a centre of excellence for the development and delivery of first class cancer treatments to patients in the Singapore area and beyond. Together with its associated hospitals, NCC captures 55% of all cancer cases in Singapore. This provides a valuable resource for research and clinical studies. NCC recognises the importance of research to advance patient care and devotes considerable effort to basic, translational and clinical research within the Divisions of Cellular and Molecular Research, Medical Sciences and Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Studies.
Contacts:
Dr Guy Heathers, Chief Operating Officer, Biotech Research Ventures - +65 436 8337, brvgph@nccs.com.sg
Professor Kam M. Hui, Chairman, Qugen Therapeutics Pte. Ltd - +65 436 8337
Professor Farzin Farzaneh, Director, Qugen Therapeutics Pte. Ltd. - +44 (0) 20 7848 5900
Ms Melanie Gardner, Senior Public Relations Officer, KCL - +44 (0) 20 7848 3073.
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