LONDON (Alliance News) - Horizon Discovery Group PLC Wednesday said it will get up to GBP652,000 to expand bioproduction research after a consortium it is part of was awarded a GBP6.2 million funding grant from the UK government and Birmingham City Vouncil.
The research tools and services business is part of a consortium that includes UCB Celltech and Lonza Biologics. The consortium has won the grant as part of the government's Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, and the money is being provided to support the future needs of biologics manufacturing in the UK. The aim is to ensure that ext-generation production systems are developed so that the most efficacious and cost-effective therapies are made available to patients.
Horizon said it will use its gene editing and screening expertise to develop a high throughput platform designed to accelerate the development of novel and improved Chinese Hamster Ovary cell lines. Horizon will introduce specific genetic changes into these CHO cell lines, allowing better decisions to be made on potential performance improvements for biologic drug manufacturing.
Horizon Discovery shares were flat at 215.00 pence Wednesday morning.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1
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