A patient undergoing peritoneal dialysis

BioCity, Scotland, 26th April 2022

Invizius Limited (“Invizius”), a biotechnology company developing treatments to suppress unwanted immune responses in haemodialysis, today announces that it has been awarded a second Biomedical Catalyst grant (Feasibility & Primer Award) by Innovate UK to research a new field of application for its H-Guard® technology.

Globally there are 3.5 million patients who are solely dependent on renal replacement therapy to preserve life. These figures are increasing due to rising incidence of chronic kidney disease, diabetes and acute kidney injury. Haemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis are the two main treatment methods used today. Both have limitations due to the body’s immune reaction to the procedure.

Today Invizius is developing its H-Guard Haemodialysis Priming Solution which 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 and other complications.

Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) offers considerable benefits to patients but it has a high dropout rate, which has limited its adoption compared to Haemodialysis. One of the main causes of dropout is damage to the peritoneal membrane from chronic exposure to PD solutions, and immune activation is thought to be a key driver.

The company will now assess in-vitro and in-vivo efficacy of a novel method of using its technology for PD and progress thereafter into pre-clinical development. The project will run for 18 months.

Dr Andy Herbert, Chief Technology Officer of Invizius, said: “Our Board, which comprises members with significant industry experience, together with key PD opinion leaders have encouraged us to assess how our H-Guard technology could be applied to minimise peritioneal membrane damage, a key issue for PD therapy. We are very pleased to receive this second Biomedical Catalyst grant which will allow us to research ways of addressing this issue alongside our Haemodialysis development programme which is running on track.”

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.