Xerion Healthcare seeks to commercialise Dr Helen Townley’s Research Group’s work into the use of nano-particles in cancer for therapy, imaging and drug delivery.

The small size of nano-particles means they can passively accumulate in tumours due to the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect, where certain sizes of molecules accumulate more in tumour cells than in normal tissue.

Encapsulation of chemotherapy drugs within nano-particles enables them to be delivered directly to the site of the tumour, reducing systemic side effects, and enabling a higher effective dose to be reached in the cancerous tissue.