Gates Foundation grant opens door to PhaSER project acceleration

The Edinburgh company will provide foundation grant recipients with 8HUM transgenic mouse models involved in the metabolism and disposition of drugs, that repeat the ways drugs are metabolised in humans and have multiple applications in drug discovery and development.

These include drug efficacy, the prediction of drug/drug interactions and the more informed design of clinical trials. The models are intended to speed discovery and development of new treatments of disease and also to reduce attrition when drugs reach the clinic as well as reduce animal use and development costs. 

PhaSER technology will become a collaborating institution within the Gates-funded Global Health Discovery Collaboratory Programme, thus giving collaborating researchers access to the drug discovery and development platform for their work combatting the likes of malaria, TB, HIV, pandemic preparedness, and non-hormonal contraception. 

PhaSER was formed in October 2022 to exploit the transgenic mouse model developed in a collaboration between professor Roland Wolf at University of Dundee, CXR biosciences, Taconic Farms and Scottish Enterprise. The 8HUM model had been characterised and validated over 15 years of research.

PhaSER founder Wolf commented: “We are delighted to receive this support from the Gates Foundation, which will allow us to provide these valuable mice to drug discovery groups working on some of the most pressing global health care challenges we are faced with today.  We look forward to continuing our work to accelerate and improve drug discovery activities.”