Revolver Therapeutics Secures £572K to Target 'Undruggable' Transcription Factors in Colorectal Cancer
核心洞察
Revolver Therapeutics (搜索), a University of Bath spinout, has raised £572,000 in a funding round led by QantX (搜索) with follow-on investment from UKI2S and the University of Bath.
The company is developing cell-penetrating peptides designed to shut down transcription factors (搜索), master regulators of disease long considered "undruggable" by conventional small-molecule drugs.
The proprietary Transcription Block Survival platform enables discovery of peptides that enter cells and switch off these previously unreachable targets, overcoming a decades-old barrier in drug development.
Revolver Therapeutics (搜索), a spinout from the University of Bath, has closed a £572,000 funding round to advance a novel therapeutic strategy targeting transcription factors (搜索) — master regulatory proteins that have frustrated drug developers for decades. The round was led by QantX (搜索), with follow-on investment from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (搜索) (UKI2S), managed by Future Planet Capital, and the University of Bath itself.
The investment will fuel development of the company's proprietary Transcription Block Survival platform and its emerging pipeline, with an initial disease focus on colorectal cancer (搜索).
Cracking the 'Undruggable' Problem
Transcription factors (搜索) sit deep inside the cell nucleus and control which genes are switched on or off. In cancer, they can drive tumor growth, survival, and resistance to treatment. Yet these proteins have remained stubbornly beyond the reach of conventional drugs because they lack the binding pockets that small molecules typically require to dock and exert their effects.
Revolver's approach circumvents this structural challenge using specially designed peptides — small, protein-like molecules — that can penetrate cells and directly shut down transcription factor activity. The company's Transcription Block Survival platform identifies peptides capable of reaching these previously inaccessible targets.
"We've already shown we can stop tumour cells growing in the lab while cracking the challenge of getting our molecules inside cells — a hurdle that has held this field back for years," said Jody Mason, Chief Scientific Officer of Revolver Therapeutics (搜索) and Professor of Biochemistry in the University of Bath's Department of Life Sciences.
Investor Confidence in Bold Science
The funding round attracted strong endorsements from investors who view the transcription factor approach as a potential paradigm shift in cancer therapy.
Richard Haycock, Co-Founder and CEO of QantX (搜索), framed the investment as a bet on high-risk, high-reward science: "Revolver is going after targets that have defeated drug discovery for decades — that's exactly the kind of hard science QantX exists to back. By going after targets that have defeated conventional drugs for decades, Revolver could open the door to a whole new way of treating cancer and other hard-to-tackle diseases."
Oliver Sexton, Investment Director at UKI2S, noted that the fund first backed Revolver in 2024 and is now doubling down. "Their novel platform produces first-in-class, cell-penetrating peptides with an excellent product profile, and with this investment they are now advancing their first therapeutic assets, including into colorectal cancer (搜索)," Sexton said.
From Academic Lab to Clinical Ambition
Revolver Therapeutics (搜索) was spun out of the University of Bath with support from the institution's Technology Transfer team in Research and Impact Services (RIS), which helped translate Professor Mason's research into a commercial venture.
Jennifer Rogers of the RIS Technology Transfer team highlighted the broader significance: "It's a wonderful example of how university research can grow into a company with the potential to change patients' lives, and we're proud to have supported the team on this journey from the very beginning."
Mason emphasized that the new funding represents a critical step toward the clinic. "This investment lets us build on that progress, starting with colorectal cancer (搜索), and move closer to new treatments for the people who need them most," he said. "We're hugely grateful to our investors for believing in what we're trying to achieve — for colorectal cancer and beyond."