Glialign: investment advances novel cell therapy for peripheral nerve repair

Hundreds of thousands of people every year are affected by severe peripheral nerve damage, resulting in paralysis and loss of sensation, often accompanied by chronic pain.

Current therapies are successful in fewer than half of cases and often require grafting of a nerve from another part of the body. 

A team from UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering have developed an off-the-shelf cell therapy for the repair of peripheral nerve injury called Engineered Neural Tissue (EngNT). EngNT will provide a living nerve-growth guide that mimics nerve structure, and has the potential to enable both neural regeneration and functional recovery. 

UCL spin-out company, Glialign Ltd, was established in 2018 to take this work forward and has received significant investment. 

"By controlling the natural ability of cells to organise themselves within soft materials we are able to generate living artificial tissues that can be used to support and guide nerve regeneration. Glialign uses EngNT made with cells developed in collaboration with ReNeuron that are suitable as an off-the-shelf therapy for the immediate treatment of patients with nerve injuries. This overcomes the limitations of nerve grafting where healthy nerves need to be destroyed and also reduces the delay and variability that would be associated with using a patient’s own stem cells". — lead researcher Dr James Phillips (UCL School of Pharmacy) 

Glialign Ltd is a UCL spin-out company with founders James Phillips and John Sinden. Glialign Ltd has received funding from UCL Technology Fund, UK Innovation and Science: Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Innovate UK. Academic research to develop EngNT has taken place within UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering and UCL School of Pharmacy.

Related links:

• Dr James Phillips' research profile
• UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering