A team from Bristol is part of a major £50 million research project aimed at developing innovative therapies for heart disease. The project is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), and brings together scientists from Bristol, King’s College London (KCL), Edinburgh, and Oxford. The research focuses on advancing gene therapies for heart disease.
The goal of the project is to identify and target key processes within heart tissue. These processes aim to stimulate the growth of heart muscle cells, promote the formation of new blood vessels, and prevent scar tissue from forming.
Researchers from KCL, Edinburgh, and Oxford plan to use therapies based on nucleic acids — the building blocks of DNA and RNA — including mRNA and small regulatory RNAs. These therapies, similar to those used in COVID-19 vaccines, will be identified through genetic screening. The team will use both viral and non-viral technologies to deliver these therapies into heart cells, with the aim of altering cell functions, such as stimulating regeneration or turning certain functions on or off.
At Bristol’s Translational Biomedical Research Centre (TBRC), the heart disease team will conduct advanced testing on the most promising discoveries. The TBRC is the UK’s only large animal preclinical facility that is MHRA-compliant for toxicology and medical device testing. Researchers will generate high-quality data to ensure the feasibility and safety of the therapies, aiming for regulatory approval for clinical trials within the first seven years of the project.
Professor Mauro Giacca, Head of the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at KCL, will lead the initiative. He explained, “There is a tremendous need for new therapies for heart failure, and we’re now at a point where gene therapies can be realistically developed. This could transform heart disease treatment.”
Professor Raimondo Ascione, Director of TBRC at Bristol Medical School and the project’s lead at Bristol, emphasized the importance of rigorous preclinical testing to ensure the safety of new treatments. He added, “This award highlights our expertise in biomedical innovation and brings us closer to delivering new heart treatments to NHS patients.”
The project will also collaborate with industry partners to screen therapy targets, access gene delivery technologies, and work with a London-based venture capital firm to secure investment for clinical applications.
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