[image shows Dr Joe Conner, Principal Scientist at Invizius]

•  £1 million grant will support first-in-human clinical trials of H-Guard

Invizius Limited (“Invizius”), a biotechnology company developing treatments to suppress unwanted innate immune responses, today announces that it has been awarded a £1 million grant to bring H-Guard, its proprietary priming solution, designed to reduce the life-threatening inflammatory effects of haemodialysis, to the clinic. The funds will be used towards H-Guard’s First-in-Man safety study commencing in 2022.

There are currently 3.3 million haemodialysis patients worldwide who receive treatment multiple times a week. Dialysis treatment can reduce life expectancy by two thirds and almost half of patients die from cardiovascular complications, in part caused by the immune system reacting to components of the dialysis apparatus.

The H-Guard® Priming Solution comprises a novel protein that lines the inside of the dialysis filter and helps dialysis to take place undetected by the body’s immune system. This suppresses the blood’s foreign body response preventing a repetitive, hostile inflammatory reaction that increases the risk of cardiovascular complications.

Richard Boyd, Chief Executive Officer of Invizius, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this grant by the Biomedical Catalyst to bring our potentially lifesaving treatment to the clinic to improve outcomes and the quality of life of haemodialysis patients. Being one of the 17 award recipients selected out of 302 applicants is an honour and validates the potential of our cutting edge technology to solve a huge unmet need for haemodialysis patients. We are initially targeting patients with high innate immune response to dialysis, where the worldwide market for H-Guard is estimated to be worth over £1.5 billion.”

Invizius is supported by a strong syndicate of investors including Mercia, Downing Ventures, Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise, Solvay Ventures, Calculus Capital and experienced life science entrepreneur and investor, Dr Jonathan Milner. The Company has established the regulatory pathway for H-Guard® in North America and the potential for coincident approval in Europe.