The new Research Centre has been funded by a £10.1 million Programme Grant including £6.4 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and will look to exploit engineering approaches, involving a combination of stimulus- responsive nanocarriers and medical devices already in clinical use to improve the therapeutic outcomes of drug-based cancer treatments .
Cancer therapy drugs tend to achieve limited accumulation and poor penetration in tumours, thus reducing effectiveness. Recent research has shown that physical mechanisms triggered by ultrasound, magnetic fields or shock waves can dramatically improve delivery and penetration.
The initial focus will be on improving the delivery of several classes of cancer drugs with the ultimate aim of establishing a centre of excellence for challenging drug delivery applications across a broad range of biological barriers and disease indications beyond cancer.