Deep Science Ventures and Medicines Discovery Catapult have launched a collaboration aimed at developing new technologies to improve delivery of medicines into the brain.

Deep Science Ventures and Medicines Discovery Catapult have announced a strategic collaboration focused on one of the most persistent challenges in drug development: delivering medicines across the blood-brain barrier.

The partnership aims to identify new approaches that could improve access of therapies to the central nervous system, potentially opening opportunities for the treatment of neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and brain cancers.

Despite major advances in understanding the biological drivers of neurological disease, researchers continue to face significant obstacles in transporting medicines into the brain. The blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from harmful substances circulating in the bloodstream, also limits the ability of many therapies to reach their intended targets.

According to the World Health Organization, neurological conditions affect more than 40% of the global population and are among the leading causes of disability and ill health worldwide.

The first phase of the collaboration will involve a review of existing technologies and drug delivery approaches to identify gaps and opportunities for innovation. The organisations intend to use these findings to explore the creation of new ventures focused on overcoming barriers to central nervous system drug delivery.

Future projects that meet predefined scientific and commercial criteria could be spun out into new companies and supported through pre-seed investment.

The initiative combines the venture creation model of Deep Science Ventures with the drug discovery expertise and infrastructure available through Medicines Discovery Catapult.

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.”

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.”

Improving drug delivery to the brain has become an increasing focus for the pharmaceutical industry as investment grows in treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders and rare neurological conditions. While significant progress has been made in identifying disease targets, successful translation into therapies often remains limited by delivery challenges.

Medicines Discovery Catapult believes the collaboration could help strengthen the UK’s position in central nervous system innovation while supporting the development of future drug discovery companies.

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.”

She added: “Through this partnership, we will strengthen the ecosystem for CNS innovation in the UK and beyond, enabling more medicines to reach patients faster.”

While the collaboration remains at an early stage, its focus on addressing a fundamental bottleneck in neurological drug development could create opportunities for both scientific advances and future commercial ventures in one of healthcare’s most challenging fields.