UQ innovators progress therapies to tackle dementia

Two University of Queensland teams working with UniQuest, the commercialisation company of UQ, are advancing the development of new therapies that could help transform treatment for dementia and cognitive decline.

The projects have together secured $4 million of the total $15.6 million available through the most recent round of ‘CUREator+ Dementia & Cognitive Decline’.

The funding program is designed to fast-track promising early-stage Australian medical research with commercial potential to improve health outcomes.

Intracellica Bio

UQ spinout company Intracellica Bio will receive more than $1.6 million towards the commercialisation of an antibody therapy for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

The UQ-developed RNJ1 Tau antibody targets the protein closely linked to disease progression, offering a potential new approach in an area that currently has no approved antibody therapies on the market.

The project is led by Professor Jürgen Götz and Dr Esteban Cruz Gonzalez from the Queensland Brain Institute and the antibody drug development is supported by the National Biologics Facility at UQ.

The funding enables the company’s establishment and accelerates key preclinical activities and early safety studies.

Quinthera

UQ spinout Quinthera Pty Ltd will receive almost $2.4 million to advance a potential new Alzheimer’s treatment.

The company is developing a first-in-class oral therapy targeting C5aR1, a key driver of harmful inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative dementias.

Professor Trent Woodruff and Associate Professor Richard Clark will bring together researchers from across UQ and the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative (QEDDI) development team to progress the preclinical development program and build evidence needed to move the therapy towards clinical development.

UQ’s commercialisation company UniQuest has played a central role in translating the research programs into commercial ventures, securing funding, protecting intellectual property and helping establish 2 companies to advance the technology towards clinical development.

UniQuest helps transform discoveries into new therapies, technologies and companies that deliver benefits to patients, industry and society.

Collaboration and acknowledgements

CUREator+ Dementia & Cognitive Decline is a national program funded by the Australian Government through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and delivered by Brandon BioCatalyst in partnership with ANDHealth and Dementia Australia.