Dublin, Ireland, 10th April 2025 – HiTech Health, a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) specialising in advanced medicines, is delighted to communicate that the CanVas consortium led by HAON life sciences (a leading cell therapy biotech company) has received a €10.7 grant from the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF). The grant will help develop one of the first ever therapeutics for early brain injury by advancing Haon Life Science’s CanVas-001 therapy to the clinic.
CanVas-001 is an allogeneic investigational product containing two proprietary sourced cell types; ECFC (Endothelial Colony Forming Cells) and MSC (Mesenchymal Stromal Cells). CanVas-001 has demonstrated significant therapeutic benefit in large animal preclinical models of early brain injury. The CanVas platform is also developing drug candidates for adult neurodegenerative diseases.
The lead indication is Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), a devastating rare disease occurring when a baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow just before or shortly after birth. It is the principal cause of infant mortality and long-term neurologic disability, including accounting for a fifth of all cerebral palsy cases.
The CanVas consortium is a multidisciplinary team of experts, made up of the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) who will carry out analytical development, HiTech Health who will facilitate development and manufacture of CanVas-001 for clinic and University College Cork Infant Maternal and Child Health Research Centre, who will provide clinical development expertise in early brain injury and in particular, neonatal HIE.
HiTech Health (HTH) is a CDMO specialising in advanced therapies and small volume aseptic products. HiTech Health has process development laboratories and GMP manufacturing capabilities to support the development and manufacture of a diverse range of advanced medicines. HTH provides an end-to-end service including Qualified Person (QP), Responsible Person (RP), project and supply chain management services to ensure that products are manufactured, approved and distributed to clinical sites on time.
The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is a €500 million challenge-based fund established under Project Ireland 2040. The objective of DTIF is invest in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies and applications on a commercial basis, driving collaboration between Ireland’s research base and industry to foster economic growth and innovation.
It is managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and administered by Enterprise Ireland.
Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), a devastating rare disease occurring when a baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow just before or shortly after birth. It is a leading cause of infant mortality and long-term neurologic disability including accounting for a fifth of all cerebral palsy cases.
It is estimated one to three in every 1,000 births in Europe and the United States will be impacted by HIE resulting in 30,000 babies affected in these regions, each year. The incidence is far higher in low incomes countries with an estimate 1 million babies affected annually.