Clarity Pharmaceuticals, an Australian radiopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious disease, including cancer and heart disease, has been awarded a Belgium government grant of approximately EUR950,000 under the Wallonia region COOTECH program.
The grant is funded by the European Union and the Directorate General for Economy, Employment and Research, Belgium.
The company said the grant will fund the development of PlateView, a diagnostic for the detection of rupture-prone vulnerable plaque, and support its expansion to Europe.
PlateView has been licensed from Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. The company says it has the ability to detect and visualise unstable, rupture-prone plaque.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are over 17.5 million people globally who die each year from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is approximately 31 per cent of all deaths worldwide.
The Belgium government grant will assist Clarity in progressing PlateView to human clinical trials and commercialise the technology to help diagnose and prevent heart attacks caused by rupture of unstable plaque.
"Clarity is looking forward to working closely with collaboration partners in the Wallonia region, as the region has a strong track record in the life sciences field with substantial experience in radiation technologies," said the company
Dr Alan Taylor, Clarity’s executive chairman, said: “This grant presents a unique opportunity for Clarity to expand its partnerships, further leveraging our collaborations and grow expertise in the radiopharmaceutical field outside of our cancer program, which we are developing in Australia. We see the development of PlateView as an opportunity to commercialise the work of Australian researchers and scientists as well as pioneer the vulnerable plaque segment of the PET cardiology nuclear medicine segment and tap into the large CVD diagnostics market. We believe that translating this research from the lab into the clinic will lead to significant value creation for Clarity and our academic collaborators. Importantly, we aim to generate better patient outcomes for people around the world through the diagnosis and prophylactic treatment of vulnerable plaque and sudden heart attack.”
Vincent Swinnen, director and trade commissioner, will be present at the upcoming BioFest conference to meet and greet companies with an interest in expansion in the Walloon region of Belgium.