Investment boosts new start-up’s plans to develop autoimmune drugs

The University of Technology, Sydney’s (UTS) ithree institute has launched Helmedix with a $1.25 million investment from Australia’s Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF). Novel therapies for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, psoriasis and multiple sclerosis will be the focus of the new biotech company.

UTS research commercialisation partner UniQuest negotiated the agreement for Helmedix to license intellectual property (IP) from the ithree institute. The MRCF funding will enable Helmedix to develop therapeutic peptide drugs based on that IP for preventing and treating immunological diseases which affect millions of people around the world.

“Bringing together the MRCF and the ithree institute to launch Helmedix is an excellent example of university research and industry sector collaboration which will translate into benefits for the wider community,” said UniQuest Acting CEO Dean Moss.

“This is the first major start-up investment UniQuest has facilitated for the ithree institute, and our second with the MRCF in the past 12 months.”

The Helmedix research team, led by Dr Sheila Donnelly, has identified a number of immune modulating peptides derived from parasitic helminth worms, one of which is effective in suppressing the inflammatory response of the host and has shown therapeutic potential in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes. This immune modulating activity indicates potential broader application in a variety of other autoimmune diseases.

Dr Stephen Thompson, Director of Helmedix and Partner at Brandon Capital (the venture capital firm that manages the MRCF), said Helmedix is a great example of the type of early-stage opportunity that the MRCF is set up to support.

“Its discoveries have broad potential to impact a number of autoimmune diseases and we look forward to working with the team to progress the technology further towards commercial development,” Dr Thompson said.

While the MRCF investment will help to progress lead optimisation and preclinical development of the immune modulating peptides over the next two years, Helmedix will subsequently seek further investment or industry partnerships to move the helminth-derived peptides through clinical development as a treatment for autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases (subject to meeting milestones).