A UK company with an ambition to develop a new class of therapeutics based on laboratory grown red blood cells has raised £3.2 million in seed funding. The financing was announced on 7 May and awarded to Scarlet Therapeutics Ltd which was founded by the University of Bristol, UK, professors Ash Toye and Jan Frayne. The company’s technology platform is based on engineered red blood cells with a potential for delivering therapeutic proteins in vivo to humans. The proteins remain inside the red blood cell membrane and therefore are not recognised by the immune system. The new technology is expected to support both blood transfusions and new product development.
The laboratory-grown cells have been designed without standard blood group antigens which means that they do not need donor matching and can be used as transfusions for a large group of patients. They are long-acting which means they can continuously clean the blood. Finally they are expected to be able to deliver complex therapies for a variety of metabolic disorders.
“Demonstrating that our lab-grown red blood cells can mature and circulate in vivo, with a half-life matching donated blood is a pivotal validation of what we are building. Our proprietary cell line technology enables scalable, universal red blood cell manufacturing and opens the door to a new class of durable therapeutics and transfusion products,” said Alistair Irvine, the company’s chief executive, in a prepared statement.
Scarlet’s technology is built on research from Bristol University and a study on manufactured blood cells being conducted by a unit of the UK National Health Service. The study, which is nearing completion, has been looking at whether laboratory grown red blood cells can survive longer in the body than standard donated cells. Called RESTORE, it received regulatory approval in 2018 and began patient recruitment in 2021. In February, a final batch of cells was produced. Results from the trial are expected to be reported in late 2026 or early 2027.
In parallel, Scarlet Therapeutics is advancing its technology with financial support from EOS Advisory LLP of Scotland, UK, SCVC (Science Creates Ventures) in Bristol, UK, Oshen Bio Ltd of Switzerland and Luxembourg, and Daft Capital of the US.
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