The aim is to find a commercial partner for Sol within 12-18 months.
Incanthera expects a lot of interest from cosmetics firms
Incanthera PLC (LON:INC) started trading on the NEX Exchange Growth market today after raising £1.2mln to fund the development of its novel cream to treat and prevent skin cancer.
Called Sol, the cream has already gone through the proof of concept stage and Incathera now wants a partner for the development and marketing stages.
Simon Ward, founder and chief executive, believes Sol has huge potential in both the therapeutic and cosmetic markets, where it can help remove Solar Keratosises, which are a common cause of skin cancer, as well as being a preventative application.
Originally a spin-out from Bradford University’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, the aim is to find a commercial partner for Sol within 12-18 months.
Incanthera has also rights to a portfolio of ICT’s other cancer-targeting therapeutics and will use partnerships to take other candidates from this portfolio to market.
The technology uses a proprietary formulation and prodrug targeting technologies to deliver treatment specifically to the tumour.
Prodrugs only become active when they reach a target, so are less toxic and enabling higher doses to reach a target and therefore increase efficacy.
Ward added: “Cancer is one of the world's most pressing health challenges.
“There is a clear unmet clinical need for developing targeted oncology medicines that are effective against tumours whilst avoiding harsh systemic side effects and we believe that our unique strategy offers one of the most promising approaches.”
Aim-listed biotech Immupharma PLC (LON:IMM) has an 11.9% stake and warrants at the listing price of 9.5p plus an option to subscribe for a further £250,000 worth of shares by end October.