LSTM has been nominated for the Bionow Project of the Year Award following the development of HexaGard™, a biomimetic to replace intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy for treating autoimmune diseases.
The project is one of three shortlisted in the category, the winner of which will be announced at a prestigious awards evening in Cheshire on the 27th November, showcasing the very best of biomedical companies and businesses located in the north of the UK.
HexaGard™ has been developed by LSTM’s Professor Richard Pleass and has previously been awarded the Prix de l’Innovation 2013, also known as the Universal Biotech Innovation Prize 2013 at the Cité Universitaire Internationale, Paris.
500 million people globally currently require IVIG, although it is unaffordable to the great majority living in developing countries where the requirement for IVIG is accelerating most rapidly. There is therefore an urgent clinical need to develop cheaper, safer, and more effective alternatives to IVIG which is currently prepared from donated human plasma.
Professor Pleass and his team took a quality-by-design approach to develop HexaGard™. He said: “Being nominated in this category by Bionow is a great honour and is a further vote of confidence in the molecule, following the award just over 12 months ago. In the last year we have worked hard to secure an exciting partnership within industry and we are now looking forward to taking this exciting new drug into pre-clinical development, ensuring that HexaGard™ will get to those patients who need it most.”