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Raleway

Queen’s University Belfast researchers at the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB) alongside Fusion Antibodies plc have secured a prestigious Medical Research Council (MRC) award to develop a new antibody drug for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Globally pancreatic cancer is still one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and new treatments are urgently required.

Recent statistics from Cancer Research UK shows that in the UK alone, almost 10,000 new cases are detected annually and the outlook for patients is much poorer than those suffering other cancers.

Queen’s researchers are addressing this gap by designing an antibody that specifically targets the surface of the cancer cells. Professor Dan Longley, Chair of Molecular Oncology at the CCRCB explains that, “this approach, called immunotherapy, has been heralded as a game-changing approach for other cancers such as skin melanomas, but new innovations are required to treat pancreatic cancer and this is the focus of our current work.”

To create the antibodies the Queen’s team will work with therapeutic antibody development specialists Fusion Antibodies plc to develop these prototype molecules.

Explaining the concept behind this new award, Professor Chris Scott, Chair of Pharmaceutical Biosciences at CCRCB at Queen’s University describes, “Pancreatic cancer is the 6th most common cause of cancer death in the UK.

“Our aim is to develop a new antibody drug that will re-arm and trigger the patients’ own immune systems to combat the disease. This exciting project is very much in line with the research ethos of Queen’s University, which is centred on Global Challenges. With this discovery, we hope to change the lives of people across the world who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.”

Dr Paul Kerr, Chief Executive at Fusion Antibodies said, “We are delighted to use our expertise in drug development and antibody engineering to collaborate with Queen’s University to generate new drug candidates for pancreatic cancer”.

This current project builds on a successful research programme funded by the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Research & Development Division.

The research team are also kindly supported by generous donations through the Queen’s Foundation into pancreatic research. Speaking on behalf of this group, Mrs Sharon Martin said, “as part of our fundraising campaign for Queen’s we are organizing proceeds from the first night of the new play ‘Hello Georgie, Goodbye Best’ on the 22nd May, at the Strand Theatre in Belfast and would be delighted to see the support of the local community at this event.”

Professor Chris Scott from Queen’s University Belfast is available for interview. Bids to Sian Devlin at Queen’s Communications Office on: s.devlin@qub.ac.uk or tel: 028 9097 5292.

Media inquiries to Sian Devlin at Queen’s Communications Office on: s.devlin@qub.ac.uk or tel: 028 9097 5292.

For more information on Fusion Antibodies, please see www.fusionantibodies.com Media inquiries 028 90432800

Funding for Queen’s pancreatic cancer drug research in collaboration with Fusion Antibodies