The latest Future Worlds startup is Vaxinc, an immunotherapy research group within the University’s Faculty of Medicine.
Founded by Associate Dean Enterprise, Professor Salim Khakoo, Vaxinc are pioneering a new and unique vaccination strategy that aims to develop protection against cancer.
Natural Killer (NK) cells are a type of white blood cell which exist in our immune system and play a major role in the rejection of both tumours and virally infected cells. Vaxinc has discovered a new way that NK cells respond to small viral peptides, which allows them to be targeted and switched on through a simple vaccination. This can be used as a treatment towards combatting not only cancer, but a number of diseases including global pathogens such as Dengue Fever, Zika, Yellow Fever and Hepatitis C.
With the current market for cancer immunotherapy estimated to become worth more than 110 billion dollars by 2021, scientists and doctors around the world are researching new ways to use immunotherapy. While other researchers are treating patients in trials with off-the-shelf NK cells, Vaxinc is taking a different approach. The team is developing an NK cell-based vaccine that can be far more cost-effective and have a much wider reach compared to current products.
To find out more, visit the Future Worlds Website.
