Deep Science Ventures (DSV) and Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) have formed a strategic partnership to tackle one of modern medicine’s most persistent challenges: delivering medicines effectively into the brain.
Although scientific advances have revealed numerous therapeutic targets for neurological diseases, transporting treatments across the blood‑brain barrier and into the central nervous system remains a major obstacle. With the World Health Organization estimating that over 40% of the global population is living with CNS diseases, the need for new approaches is urgent.
The collaboration aims to identify and develop technologies that could improve brain entry for medicines, opening opportunities for rare neurological disorders as well as large, underserved patient groups, including those with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and various brain cancers. The partners believe that addressing these gaps could improve patient outcomes while creating new commercial pathways for biotech and pharma companies.
The first phase will involve a detailed review of the current medicines landscape to pinpoint innovation opportunities and systemic gaps in brain‑entry technologies. Approaches that meet the partners’ investment criteria may be spun out into new ventures and provided with pre‑seed funding.
DSV’s model centres on building future founding teams to create companies that address complex, cross‑sector challenges. These founders will work on opportunities pre‑scoped by DSV, reducing the risk typically associated with early‑stage company creation. MDC will contribute its drug discovery expertise and infrastructure to support the development of new solutions.
Adam Tomassi‑Russell, Senior Director at Deep Science Ventures, said: “The blood-brain barrier remains one of the most complex issues in modern medicine and with over 40% of the world’s population facing neurological conditions, it’s imperative that we find an optimal solution to this problem. By pooling our venture-creation expertise with MDC’s discovery capabilities, we can offer the right founders a frictionless environment in which to tackle the CNS delivery gap.
He added: “If we can solve the ‘how’ of brain entry more effectively, we can unlock a new frontier of CNS therapeutics and address the huge unmet need in these diseases.”
Nicola Heron, Chief Strategy Officer at Medicines Discovery Catapult, said: “At MDC, we are committed to transforming bold ideas into better treatments. This collaboration presents an opportunity to discover new technologies that could have a significant impact on patients and society. Through this partnership, we will strengthen the ecosystem for CNS innovation in the UK and beyond, enabling more medicines to reach patients faster.”
