A Northumberland life sciences firm has sealed a £500,000 investment to ramp up work on a new cancer-prevention treatment.
Lant Medical has secured £500,000 investment from Innovate Ƶ, the Ƶ’s innovation agency, and two angel investors from the Northern Investor Hub, to design a clinical trial for a promising new non-antibiotic treatment which is designed to eradicate cancer-causing bacteria.
The Alnwick based business, founded by CEO Joanne Lant, will use the funding to design a clinical trial for the treatment, which targets H. Pylori, the most common pathogenic bacteria in the world. Around half the world’s population is infected with the bacteria but current treatment options remain limited and problematic.
H. pylori infections are treated with two or three antibiotics simultaneously, which Ms Lant says often leads to incomplete eradication and it is a worldwide concern that antibiotics are gaining resistance. The firm's first product - HELIX - aims treats the root cause and all the symptoms of H. pylori, and it aims to be an over-the-counter therapy.
The investment – £250,000 from Innovate Ƶ and £250,000 from the investors with the Northern Investor Hub – will pay for the design of the clinical trial, manufacture of the formulation for trial, and for field trials to then take place in India. Lant Medical is also working alongside the NHS to improve access to H. Pylori testing, allowing patients to obtain a test without the need for repeated GP visits.
Ms Lant believes her formulation could make a significant difference amid World Health Organisation warnings about H. pylori’s cancer-causing risk, increasing antibiotic resistance, and emerging evidence of the long-term damage of using proton pump inhibitors for chronic indigestion.
Lant Medical also worked with Northern Investor Hub, powered by UMi, to apply for Innovate Ƶ’s Future Economy Investor Partnership Programme. The initiative aims to link grant funding for research and development with investment from partnerships with investor partners, and grant funding is also aligned with private sector investment.
Northern Investor Hub acted as Lant Medical’s investor partner, helping the company through its Innovate Ƶ grant application process, and then to raise the private sector investment with angel investors.
Ms Lant said: “I’m excited by the possibility for this treatment to help a lot of people, benefitting their overall health and avoiding the misery of side effects from antibiotics. It will also contribute to cost-savings and efficiency for the NHS, saving multiple trips to GPs and reducing the number of costly antibiotics prescribed.
“We are incredibly grateful to Innovate Ƶ for providing grant funding, to our angel investors for their belief and investment, and to UMi for making this possible. This funding marks a crucial step in our mission to develop a safer, more effective approach to treating H. Pylori and improving global health.”
