Spin-out company to develop new anti-cancer drug

The University of Wolverhampton and Caparo plc have agreed arrangements to invest in a spin-out company that is developing a new anti-cancer drug.

The new company, Disulfican Ltd, has been formed to build on research carried out by Prof Weiguang Wang, Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics at the University of Wolverhampton.  Disulfican Ltd will receive financial investment of approximately £200k from the University and the Caparo Angad Paul Fund, which invests in new technologies born out of University research. 

Led by Prof Wang, the Cancer Research Group is developing a treatment based on Disulfiram, an existing drug used to treat alcoholism which is showing promising results in pre-clinical testing as a new anti-cancer therapy.

While standard Disulfiram shows strong anticancer activity in the laboratory, its application in cancer clinical testing has previously been inhibited by its very short half-life in the blood stream, where it breaks-down and loses its anti-cancer profile. By encapsulating Disulfiram within a poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nano-particle, Disulfican scientists are able to prolong the half-life of the drug in the blood stream and transport it to the tumour site where it is released.

Disulfican Ltd aims to assemble an international research collaboration focused upon the development of the drug formulation to regulatory standards and testing its anti-cancer safety and efficacy.