Physiomics receives Innovate UK grant for cancer treatment project

(ShareCast News) - Systems biology company Physiomics confirmed on Friday that is has been awarded the Innovate UK grant as part of its Biomedical Catalyst 2016 Feasibility Study Competition that was the subject of a provisional announcement on 22 November.The AIM-traded firm said the proposed project is titled 'Decision Support Systems For Stratified Cancer Treatment'.In line with its strategic objective to explore the personalised medicine market set out in its full year results, the objective of the project is to create a prototype decision support system to improve cancer care by helping medical professionals make treatment decisions based on patient specific data."The ultimate objective would be to create a practical tool that could be licensed initially to NHS providers in the UK to support clinical decision making and improve outcomes for individual patients suffering with certain types of cancer," Physiomics' board explained in a statement.In the first part of the project academic collaborator Professor Mark Middleton will provide anonymised data from individual patients with certain cancer types.Physiomics will then use its 'Virtual Tumour' technology to create a decision support tool that will prospectively suggest an optimal treatment regime for new patients presenting with these cancers.In the third part of the project, the Oxford Academic Health Science Network will develop an economic case and support the creation of a commercialisation plan for the tool."Once a prototype has been successfully developed, further funding is likely to be required to create a fully distributable commercial tool," the board said.The grant revenue is expected to be £132k over a twelve month period commencing February 2017, hence just under half of it is likely to be recognised in the company's current financial year."Some of this revenue will be used for disbursements to project collaborators and the balance will make a significant contribution towards the time spend by Physiomics personnel on the project."