LUNAC Therapeutics wins best new start-up company at BioNow awards

LUNAC Therapeutics (LUNAC), a UK based drug discovery company focused on the development of advanced life-saving anticoagulants, has been named as this year’s Start Up of the Year winner at the 19th Bionow Awards.

The 19th Bionow Awards took place with an online ceremony on Thursday 4 February 2021 and showcased the best of this world-class sector. The Start Up Award recognised organisations that are using innovative approaches to solve a significant healthcare need, and where the company has a high-growth potential. Bionow is a not-for-profit membership organisation supporting the biomedical, pharma and life sciences sectors across the North of England. The awards bring together leaders in the North of England’s life sciences industry and recognises life sciences companies, academics and health organisations for their application of cutting-edge technologies.

LUNAC Therapeutics is a spin out from the University of Leeds pursuing the discovery of next generation oral anticoagulant therapies with a reduced risk of causing bleeding compared to current treatments. LUNAC’s primary focus is on the inhibition of activated Factor XII (FXIIa), a clotting factor enzyme which plays a role in pathological clot formation (thrombosis), but not in the stemming of bleeding (haemostasis).

The business is founded on IP generated by Professor Helen Philippou (Professor of Translational Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Leeds) and Dr Richard Foster (Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Leeds), built on a decade of academic research into FXIIa in association with some of the world’s leading supporters of scientific and medical research, including the Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation and the UK’s Medical Research Council