A LEADING academic is setting up a company to help more cancer-fighting drugs reach the market.

Cancer Dynamics will be established in Newcastle. It will offer the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries help in getting more anti-cancer drugs to clinical trials, hopefully for approval as treatments.

The company will be led by Herbie Newell, professor of cancer theraputics at The Northern Institute for Cancer Research, at the University of Newcastle.

Prof Newell said: "There is currently no group in Europe providing a comprehensive and fully-integrated drug development resource for companies engaged in the discovery of new cancer treatments.

"We aim to bridge the gap and provide a unique service for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries."

He expects to recruit ten staff in the short-term, growing to 20 staff in the medium-term, including technical, administrative and business development workers.

The company is being set up with help from the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (CELS) in Newcastle.

CELS was one of five centres of excellence established by regional development agency One NorthEast.

It recruited Julian Fisher, of Advocates Consulting Services, to provide commercial and business advice, and helped it secure £40,000 in funding from independent early stage technology venturing company Nstar.

Janette Thomas, project manger at CELS, said: "We have some of the world's finest academics in life sciences and healthcare right here in the North-East. They often have great ideas, but do not always have the business experience to get them to market.

"CELS' role is to bridge the gap between the two, by ensuring their ideas are relevant, timely and market-focused.