A YORK firm developing revolutionary new methods of diagnosing and treating lung cancer has been given a huge cash injection.

University of York spin-out company Cizzle Biotechnology, which has already been partly funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, has secured venture capital funding from the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund.

The amount is undisclosed, but the £9 million fund to help exciting new technology emerging from the universities of York, Leeds and Sheffield has a ceiling of £500,000 on each award. The cash helps to bring promising research work to commercial reality.

In this case, it will help Cizzle to progress its research into a potential new method of diagnosing and treating lung cancer, based on the discovery of the role that the protein Ciz 1 appears to play in triggering abnormal cell growth.

The Cizzle team ultimately hopes to confirm that blocking the actions of this protein will prevent tumours from occurring or slow down the growth of existing tumours.

The company is based on the research of Dr Dawn Coverley, Lister Research Fellow in the School of Biology at the University of York, and her collaborator Dr Justin Ainscough, an expert in the growth of normal mammalian cells.

She said: "Our research shows that Ciz 1 plays a role in initiation of DNA replication, and recent evidence suggests that this role is disrupted in lung cancer cells. We aim to target the disrupted form of Ciz1 to generate a completely new and selective way of both diagnosing and treating small cell lung cancers.

"Current chemotherapies restrain the growth of all cells in the body and therefore have poorly tolerated side effects, but what we are trying to do is target the lung cancer cells specifically."

Lung cancers are the second most common form of cancer in the West, but are the most common cause of cancer death.

Small cell lung cancers, associated with cigarette smoking, account for 25 per cent of all lung cancers. Cizzle plans to develop a diagnostic test and therapy to combat this specific cancer. It is also possible that this technology may be applicable to other cancers.

In the wake of the award, Dr Coverley, whose work in this area was supported by the Yorkshire Forward Bioscience Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship scheme (BYEF), will become chief scientific officer.

Simon Ward, an experienced bioscience entrepreneur will provide consultancy services to the company. He set up Sheffield biotech company Molecular Skincare Ltd, then oversaw its merger into AIM listed York Pharm.

Dr Joe Wiley, fund manager of the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund, said: "In deciding whether to invest, we look for world-class research, a committed and experienced management team and a strong market opportunity.

"Cizzle Biotechnology has all of these in abundance. The potential benefits to the medical sector are enormous."