Rare are the times when we encounter organisations which really are working to make the world a safer, healthier place. We consider ourselves very lucky to have been introduced to such a company over the past summer.  That company is Immunocore.

Based in Oxford, England, Immunocore is working to develop novel drugs to treat cancer and viral disease.  Earlier this month, we were very excited to hear that the company recently won a US$100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project titled “curing HIV through elimination of latently infected cells”.

Dr. Bent Jakobsen of Immunocore Ltd., collaborating with Cardiff and Oxford Universities, will test whether a novel biologic therapy, engineered from immune cells, can clear virus from latently-infected HIV cells. If successful, the HIV-infected patients could control the disease without retroviral drugs.

More information about Immunocore and its exciting research is available at http://immunocore.com.