Redx Pharma has launched its third subsidiary, Redx Immunology, which will focus on developing new therapies for disorders of the immune system.

Redx Immunology will deliver up to eight new drug development candidates over the near-to-medium term for subsequent progression into clinical trials. The launch of Redx Immunology is in line with the group's strategy to develop a third therapeutic area to generate additional pipeline assets for further partnering and licensing deals. Its creation also complements Redx's current cancer-related drug programs, which encompass immuno-oncology.

Redx Immunology's approach to drug discovery and development will be consistent with the company's existing approach in its cancer and anti-infectives subsidiaries. It will focus on commercially relevant targets and seek to improve the characteristics of existing drug classes to create highly differentiated best-in-class new drugs. As with its other subsidiaries, Redx will seek partnership and license deals at an early stage in drug development programs.

Redx Immunology will operate at Redx's labs in Cheshire, U.K., and is being launched using the proceeds from the company's recent IPO, together with the matched funding from the group's $6.6 million grant award from the U.K. Government's Regional Growth Fund.

Dr. Neil Murray, chief executive of Redx Pharma, said, “Diseases involving the immune system represent some of the most defining public health challenges of the developed world. Our new R&D center for immunology will build on [our experience in] tumor immunology, where we are looking to switch on the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. Our new work in immunology will be focused around creating therapeutics that seek to turn off the immune system and tackle conditions such as inflammation and auto-immune diseases.”