UCL spinout attracts significant investment to advance cell therapy for peripheral nerve repair

A UCL spinout has developed an off-the-shelf cell therapy that can repair peripheral nerve injuries.

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

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

A team from UCL’s Centre for Nerve Engineering has developed an off-the-shelf cell therapy that can repair peripheral nerve injuries, called Engineered Neural Tissue (EngNT). EngNT provides a living nerve-growth guide that can mimic nerve structure, and has the potential to enable both neural regeneration and functional recovery. 

UCL spinout company, Glialign Ltd, was established in 2018 to take this work forward and has received significant investment. Academic research to develop EngNT is taking place within the UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering and UCL School of Pharmacy.

Lead researcher Dr James Phillips said: "By controlling the natural ability of cells to organise themselves within soft materials, we are able to generate living artificial tissues to support and guide nerve regeneration. This overcomes the limitations of nerve grafting, where healthy nerves need to be destroyed, and also reduces the delay and variability associated with using a patient’s own stem cells.” 

Read more
Read the full story on the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering website

Other links
UCL Centre for Nerve Engineering
UCL School of Pharmacy