Diurnal secures £450K funding for hormone drug delivery technology

Funding

Diurnal Ltd has secured more than £250,000 co-investment from Finance Wales plc, Fusion IP plc and the Viking Fund, along with a £200,000 grant from Pfizer to develop a delivery system for hormones that mimics the body’s natural variation in production levels over the course of the day.

These therapies have the potential to help patients with deficiencies in steroid hormones, testosterone, thyroid hormones and others that are involved in regulating metabolism, growth, development and puberty, tissue function and in determining mood.

Each of these hormone deficiencies requires life-long treatment. By mimicking natural variations in production levels over a day, Diurnal’s novel approach to drug delivery should make treatment more effective and reduce side effects.

Finance Wales plc is investing £150,000 alongside £50,000 each from the Viking Fund and university investment group Fusion IP plc, of which Diurnal Ltd is a subsidiary.  Diurnal was originally spun out from Sheffield University, but will be headquartered at offices in Cardiff, where it will work with Tredegar-based Penn Pharmaceuticals to develop its new formulation approach.

Martin Whitaker, General Manager at Diurnal, said, “The investment will allow us to develop our drug development programmes to the next level and closer to final testing, licensing and commercialisation. The impact will be considerable to people who suffer from reduced cortisol and testosterone levels and by working with the body’s natural rhythm it could drastically improve their lives.”

Diurnal was one of Fusion IP’s first spin-out companies from Sheffield University. The technology commercialisation firm owns the rights to 100 per cent of the research generated at Sheffield and Cardiff universities.