Resolution Therapeutics Limited (“Resolution”), a biopharmaceutical company developing macrophage cell therapy to treat chronic diseases characterised by life-threatening inflammatory organ damage, today announced completion of a £26.6m Series A financing from Syncona Ltd (“Syncona”). Syncona entered into a collaboration with the University of Edinburgh Centre for Regenerative Medicine in 2018 which has provided the foundation of Resolution’s technology platform. The Series A funding is expected to deliver early clinical data for the company’s first product.
Resolution is exploiting the wound healing ability of macrophages to stimulate organ repair following severe injury as a result of chronic disease. Macrophages are cells of the innate immune system involved in the inflammatory response to injury or infection as well as in orchestrating the wound healing process that follows. The company’s first programme is an engineered macrophage to treat patients with compensated liver cirrhosis. These patients are very sick, with no effective current therapeutic options and are at risk of progression to decompensated cirrhosis and the need for a liver transplant.
Prof. Stuart Forbes of the University of Edinburgh and Joint Founder of Resolution commented, “After more than a decade studying the role of macrophages in liver regeneration both in the laboratory and in the clinical setting, the stage is set to develop macrophage cell therapies to treat chronic disease. Our research indicates that a macrophage cell therapy may have a therapeutic effect in liver cirrhosis. We are delighted to be working with Syncona, who have a track record of supporting companies with the ambition and expertise to make a success of their investments and are passionate about making a difference to patients’ lives.”
Edward Hodgkin, Partner of Syncona Investment Management Limited who serves as Chairman and CEO of Resolution added, “We are excited to partner with the world-class team in Edinburgh as together we build a business that will develop and commercialise macrophage cell therapies to treat severely ill patients who have no other treatment options. It is a very exciting opportunity, and we will be at the forefront of the development of a new kind of cell therapy.”
The academic founders of Resolution are:
- Stuart Forbes, Professor of Transplantation & Regenerative Medicine andDirector of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and Consultant Hepatologist at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and
- John Campbell, Director of Tissues, Cells & Advanced Therapeutics, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) and Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh.
Resolution was launched following a two-year research collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, in which processes to develop engineered macrophage cell therapy were pioneered and several patents filed. The company is based at the University’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine and has partnered with SNBTS to optimise the manufacturing process and produce engineered macrophages for clinical use.