Immunology pioneer attracts partners and funding

A specialist experimental immunology business in north west England has been helped by Innovate UK EDGE to find new research partners and also to secure funding from UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).

Immundnz Ltd, based at the Alderley Park biotech and life science campus in Cheshire, works at the forefront of immunology, biochemistry and analytical chemistry.

Innovate UK EDGE has been working with the company since May 2019 following Immundnz’s referral under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme for SMEs.

International partners

The support was focused on access to finance and funding, innovation management and help with finding international partners.

Within months, Innovate UK EDGE advisers had helped Immundnz to establish collaborative research ventures with partners in Turkey and Spain.

More recently, the company was awarded an £84,000 grant from UKRI for an eight-month project to find biomarkers in human lung cells that could predict the severity of a COVID-19 infection.

The Immundnz team is developing a safe experimental model that can be customised to mutated forms of the COVID-19 or other viruses in future pandemics.

Collaboration goals achieved

Dr Robert-Jan Lamers, director of Immundnz and co-founder along with Dr Masih Alam, said: “Innovate UK EDGE has been instrumental in helping us achieve our partnership and collaboration goals.

“In addition to the COVID-19 grant, they have also helped us to secure a Bounce Back Loan to continue with our research projects.

He added:

We expect to create three new roles as a result of Innovate UK EDGE’s work with us, and we foresee a 20% increase in turnover.

– Dr Robert-Jan Lamers, director and co-founder, Immundnz Ltd