Cambridge, UK and Montreal, Canada, November 24, 2025 —BioTryp Therapeutics (BIT), a University of Cambridge spin-out company, and Intellisyn Pharma (ISN), a Montreal based preclinical drug discovery research company, are pleased to announce they are receiving advisory services and funding of up to CA$200k from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), alongside £300k from Innovate UK, to support a collaborative research and development project. This support will enable a collaborative R&D project that leverages ISN’s preclinical drug discovery expertise to accelerate BIT’s work on developing novel small molecule anti-biofilm therapies for bacterial infections.
Based on years of research at the University of Cambridge, BIT is developing novel treatments for tackling infections, with a particular focus on preventing the recurrence of hard-to-treat bacterial infections. Its initial target indication is urinary tract infections, which affect over 400 million people worldwide annually, with high recurrence rates. Infection recurrence is driven by the formation of bacterial biofilms in the urinary tract, which protect the constituent pathogens from both antibiotic therapy and the host immune system. By inhibiting the formation of these biofilms, BIT’s novel therapies will support infection eradication as well as help prevent recurrence, creating a new paradigm of treatment for these common infections.
BIT has already been working with the ISN team to identify a lead chemical series of candidate compounds, based on hit compounds previously identified. The NRC IRAP and Innovate UK support will fund a 1-year programme of research progressing BIT’s compounds into the lead optimisation stage led by ISN. Compounds will be designed and synthesised utilising ISN’s extensive background know-how, IP and machine learning algorithms, and sent to BIT for testing via their assays, in an iterative process to progress the work towards the identification of lead candidates.
The project will benefit both the UK and Canadian biotech ecosystems, supporting the development of novel therapeutics and innovative drug discovery methodologies across the two countries. In the longer term, the development of such anti-biofilm therapies will be crucial to address the fight against antibiotic resistant infections, and to support antibiotic stewardship efforts, benefiting patients and healthcare systems across the globe.
About BioTryp Therapeutics: BIT is a Cambridge (UK) based biotech that is developing novel small molecule therapies against bacterial infections. It is focused on inhibiting the formation of bacterial biofilms, a major cause of intractable and recurrent bacterial infections, and is targeting urinary tract infections as its first indication. BIT is currently a pre-seed stage company, and is in the process of seeking a seed investment round.
About Intellisyn Pharma (an X-Chem company): ISN is a preclinical drug discovery research company. Its laboratories are in Montreal Canada, and it collaborates on projects with startups, biotechs, and pharma companies from around the world. ISN brings medicinal, synthetic, and analytical chemistry expertise into the consortium. ISN has drug discovery know-how and experience around advancing hits and leads into drug candidates, including more than ten past research collaborations resulting in drug candidates.
