Vortex Biosciences is expanding its footprint at The London Cancer Hub’s Innovation Gateway in support of its next phase of growth, having opened a new laboratory there earlier this year.
The company is developing a platform that aims to use circulating tumour cells (CTCs) to inform personalised therapy development, guide therapy selection and monitor cancer.
The company has become part of a thriving innovation ecosystem developing at The London Cancer Hub, joining existing Innovation Gateway tenants including:
- Vesynta, a start-up delivering personalised dosing of cancer therapies
- Curesponse, a company evaluating drug response and guiding personalised cancer treatment
- The Exercise Clinic, a company offering physiotherapy and exercise regimes for cancer patients.
The London Cancer Hub is an ambitious project that aims to create the world’s leading ecosystem for cancer research, treatment and commercial enterprise.
The Sutton campus is already home to The Institute of Cancer Research and our hospital partner The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, which together form one of the leading cancer research and treatment centres in the world.
The ICR works closely with industry partners to take our discoveries into the clinic.
Vortex has developed a ‘no touch’ microfluidic chip technology to capture CTCs from blood with high yields. These CTCs can then be analysed using a range of downstream workflows that help characterise them, providing researchers and clinicians with insights into patients’ cancers.
The company is building a CTC sample-to-answer service proposition targeted at biopharma companies, to support the development of biomarker-driven personalised medicines, to guide therapy decisions and to monitor cancer.
The London Cancer Hub
The Innovation Gateway is The London Cancer Hub’s flagship innovation space, made up of a mix of modern, sophisticated laboratories, break-out spaces, hot desks, offices and kitchen areas.
Alongside the Innovation Gateway, major recent developments at the site include the ICR’s new £75m Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, the Harris Academy Sutton, Maggie’s cancer support centre at The Royal Marsden – the latter two of which have won prestigious architectural awards – and The Royal Marsden’s Oak Cancer Centre.
With the arrival of new tenants at the Innovation Gateway, the space is now full. Companies interested in taking space in the future should contact Andy Carr, the ICR’s business development lead for The London Cancer Hub.
Jon Wilkinson, Director of Business and Innovation at The Institute of Cancer Research, said:
“We’re very pleased to see Vortex Biosciences increasing their footprint at the Innovation Gateway, where the company is already part of a growing community of start-ups and spin-outs based only yards from our Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery.
"Our hope is that in collaboration with the ICR and our other partners at The London Cancer Hub, companies here in Sutton will deliver major innovations in cancer research and treatment as the research ecosystem continues to evolve and grow.”
Paul Jones, CEO of Vortex Biosciences, said:
"We’ve been delighted with our decision to open our new CTC Centre of Excellence at the London Cancer Hub earlier this year. Almost doubling our lab footprint just reinforces our commitment to this world-leading ecosystem for cancer research.
"With access to a high-quality talent pool and connection to large-scale research and clinical systems, we believe our presence here will accelerate the translation of our technology into everyday clinical practice. We look forward to working with the talented researchers and clinicians at the London Cancer Hub to advance the fight against cancer."