Our aim is to put ambitious and promising academic entrepreneurs in front of experienced and inspirational professionals who can unlock opportunities, make connections, or highlight areas where the projects can develop in terms of commercialisation. We expect that the individual outcomes will vary for each project; however, the exchange of ideas and guidance during the meeting will act as a catalyst to accelerate the commercialisation progress.

Projects (2 of 3 confirmed) -

Project 1: Andrew Baker & Julie Rodor - miRNA-mediated inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation to prevent neointimal hyperplasia in bypass grafts.

The surgical treatment for severe forms of coronary and peripheral artery disease includes coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and lower limb peripheral artery bypass grafting (PABG), which involve the use of autologous saphenous vein grafts (SVG) in 80% of cases. There are around 15,000 CABG and >20,000 PABG operations performed annually in the UK and over 2,000,000 annually worldwide.

As a result of the standard state of care (statin and anti-platelet therapies (e.g. aspirin), many CABG/PABG patients, require continued support, repeat admissions and procedures which imposes a major cost and responsibility of care on international health care systems. The average costs of a ’first time’ CABG is estimated at £4900, with the cost of a repeat procedure £5900; costs in for example the US are approximately four times higher. There are no pharmacological therapies (local or systemic) which target the disease pathogenesis of late vein graft failure. The continued reliance on SVGs means that the problem will continue to increase unless novel solutions to limit SVG occlusion are established.

The team have shown that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) are involved in the process and that they divide too quickly leading to the pathology. Research has identified a patented cohort of novel miRNAs that are highly effective in blocking VSMC proliferation on stimulation of when they become dysfunctional, with limited effect on other cells. This approach has the potential to translate into a new treatment for heart patients undergoing CABG or PABG.

Project 2: Sam Grainger & Katherine Dunn –a combined solar panel and battery technology made using biological materials, Electrosynbionic Constructs Illuminated with Absorbable Light (ESPECIAL) technology. An ESPECIAL device is a solar biobattery, an all-in-one system for harvesting sunlight, storing energy and delivering electricity on-demand. ESPECIAL could be used in any application that might benefit from solar energy with storage, from electronics to infrastructure. The team are currently exploring applications and potential markets through ICURe Discover, where the thinking will evolve further.