DUNDEE, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ubiquigent Limited, a company focused on enabling and supporting ubiquitin system targeted drug discovery, announced today that it was awarded a new grant from Innovate UK as part of its Investor Accelerator Pilot to support a project entitled; ‘The development of novel compounds to seed a neurodegeneration drug discovery programme’. The programme provides simultaneous grant funding and venture capital investment for early stage projects led by UK companies.
As part of the award Ubiquigent received further investment from IP Group plc and a group of experienced life science investors led by Ubiquigent’s senior management team to support the ongoing growth of the business.
Following the award of the grant and the investment, Jason Mundin was appointed to the role of Managing Director, having previously been Ubiquigent’s Commercial Director. Jason Brown, previously Scientific Director, has seen his role expand to Scientific and Business Development Director. In addition, Sheelagh Frame joined the company in the newly created role of Head of Biology, assuming full responsibility for the company’s Dundee-based operations.
Ubiquigent’s Managing Director, Jason Mundin commented: “This latest grant and investment provides additional support for the advancement of one of our key programmes. The programme is now well underway, and we look forward to reaching our endpoint of developing novel compounds in this disease area much sooner than originally planned. The team is now even better placed to support our existing and new partners focused on ubiquitin system drug discovery.”
Further information on the Innovate UK grant and associated investment can be found by visiting: www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-competition-investment-accelerator-pilot
More details on Ubiquigent’s Collaborative Drug Discovery opportunities, Drug Discovery Services and capabilities are available at www.ubiquigent.com.
About Ubiquigent
Ubiquigent Limited is focused on enabling and supporting ubiquitin system drug discovery. Our biology and chemistry platforms allow us to design and develop novel compounds targeted towards ubiquitin system proteins as well as evaluate those of our partners.
Ubiquigent’s scientific and business interests have a clear focus; namely the ubiquitin, ubiquitin-like, and integrated signalling systems. The company has established its scientific and business credentials with both academic researchers undertaking fundamental scientific discovery and pharmaceutical and biotechnology company scientists exploring the potential of ubiquitin cascade-focused drug discovery.
Ubiquigent provides support to programmes at all stages from the provision of Research Tools and reagents to assay development compound profiling Drug Discovery Services through to larger Collaborative Drug Discovery Programmes for the delivery of hit and lead compounds. At every stage Ubiquigent leverages its ubiquitin system focused knowledge and expertise to support is partners programmes.
Ubiquigent benefits from high-calibre backing, including from IP Group plc, US investors, the UK Medical Research Council, and the University of Dundee. The company’s headquarters and laboratory operations are based in the UK and are located in a state-of-the-art facility adjacent to the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee (both founded by Professor Sir Philip Cohen). In addition to Ubiquigent’s own facilities and capabilities, such proximity provides ready access to a huge range of additional scientific expertise (1,000+ life-science researchers onsite), technological competencies, and assay and analytical platforms.
For more information, visit www.ubiquigent.com.
About the ubiquitin system
The ubiquitin system offers many new drug discovery target opportunities across multiple therapeutic areas including cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic, neurological and musculoskeletal, and infection and immunity. Involving the modification of proteins through the attachment of the protein ubiquitin, or ubiquitin-like proteins (Ubls), ubiquitylation and related Ubl modifications are key to the control of cellular protein homeostasis as well as signalling, akin to the critical role played by phosphorylation (approximately 30% of commercial drug discovery programmes target phosphorylation enzymes), and holds similar, if not greater, potential for clinical utility.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. It works with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. For further information visit www.innovateuk.gov.uk
