Ark-led consortium wins €5.3m grant
To fund project that combines adenoviral-delivered gene therapeutics and stem cell therapy
A €5.3m EU Framework Programme 7 Grant has been granted to a consortium led by Ark Therapeutics to support a four-year research project that aims to develop technology in the coronary stent area.
The consortium includes Ark plus two SMEs and elements of the Yale-UCL Research Collaborative (Division of Medicine in UCL, and Departments of Cardiology in Yale and Queen Mary College London) and the University of Eastern Finland.
This is the second funding announcement made by Ark Therapeutics this week, following awards totalling €600,000 from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) and the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY-centre) to develop Ark’s lentiviral vector production technology.
The new funding supports the consortium’s research programme that will develop Ark's technology and expertise in adenoviral-delivered gene therapeutics, which will be delivered to the coronary artery after heart attack to restore the integrity of the artery; and the use of a pro-healing and/or regenerative stent (in collaboration with Magnus Inventions and QualiMed, a German company that will make the stent).
The aim is to stimulate a healing process so that over time the stent will undergo a predictable degradation to leave a wholly biologically healed artery through regeneration of native tissues.
The research programme will start in November and Ark will receive b1.1m for its contribution to the project.
Martyn Williams, ceo of Ark, said: ‘The award to Ark of this significant EU grant further demonstrates the company’s innovative science capabilities and validates the approach of gene therapy and stem cell therapy in the cardiovascular system.’