The funding will boost the University of Nottingham spinout’s development of bone regeneration treatment.

TherageniX, a company developing a dry powder gene therapy for bone graft augmentation, and the institution from which it emerged, the University of Nottingham, have been awarded a £995,000 grant from Innovate UK.

The funding will support the development of TherageniX’s powdered gene therapy, a non-viral gene delivery system to improve tissue regeneration after surgery. It will initially concentrate on orthopaedic applications, with the ultimate aim of improving outcomes for patients undergoing bone grafting procedures.

TherageniX’s technology allows the fast transfection of patients’ cells, which are then implanted at the surgical site, enabling the body to produce relevant proteins for tissue regeneration.

The company will combine autologous bone marrow cells from the patient with its platform technology to drive the production of genes, helping to boost the regenerative capacity of skin, bone, muscle and cartilage.

Dr James Dixon, associate Professor at the School of Pharmacy and NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Nottingham, explained: “Adapting technology for a rapid application directly to grafted tissue within the operating theatre has been a vision for our gene delivery platform for several years.”

He added: “We have the opportunity here to bring regenerative medicine and gene therapy forward with innovative applications and apply it in ways we could not have envisaged only a few years ago, even to emergency medicine.”

Dr Anandkumar Nandakumar, chief executive officer at TherageniX, was in no doubt about the potential of the treatment: “Our mission is to advance treatments in repairing tissue damage and we are grateful for the support from Innovate UK at this early stage. This grant is a testament to the potential of TherageniX’s novel approach to tissue regeneration and will enable us to make great strides in manufacturing our powdered gene therapy.”