New company to advance potential treatment for cancer and other diseases | News | Te Herenga Waka—
Summary
Equity investment for the company, called Avalia Immunotherapies, is coming from New Zealand investment firm Powerhouse Ventures, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, Malcorp Biodiscoveries Limited and Victoria Link Limited (Victoria Universitys commercialisation office). Additional support is also coming from Callaghan Innovations technology incubator programme, in the form of a repayable grant, and the Kiwi Innovation Network.The director of the Ferrier Research Institute, Professor Richard Furneaux, says Avalia Immunotherapies will further develop the ground-breaking technology and aims to progress it to clinical trials.The research has been led by Dr Gavin Painter from Ferrier Research and Dr Ian Hermans from the Malaghan Institute, and works as a therapeutic vaccine, activating a patients own immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells.Avalia Immunotherapys chief executive, Dr Shivali Gulab, says the decade-long research partnership between Dr Hermans and Dr Painter has led to a powerful technology platform that has been patented and licensed to the company for commercial development.The technology can be used to design new treatments for cancer, as well as infectious disease and allergy. Our initial focus will centre on cancer immunotherapy.Professor Furneaux says the potential benefits of the therapy are huge, not only for cancer patients but for the Wellington research community. Ive worked in this field since 1980 and this is the first time Ive been involved in placing our intellectual property in a New Zealand start-up companythats how important this research is.This is also the beginning of what we hope is a birth of a biomedical initiative for the Wellington regiontheres fantastic biomedical infrastructure here, from research facilities to the excellent District Health Boards. Were hoping Wellington will become just as well known for its biomedical research as it is for its film industry.