An oncology team led by Johns Hopkins professor Marikki Laiho has been backed by the commercialisation fund, becoming its first recipient.

An unnamed oncology project at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) became the first to receive a funding commitment, of undisclosed size, from JHU-focused commercialisation vehicle Bluefield Innovations yesterday.

The oncology team, led by Marikki Laiho, director of JHU’s Division of Molecular Radiation Sciences, will target the RNA-polymerase 1 pathway, a cellular route thought integral to cancerous cells yet relatively immaterial to healthy ones.

Laiho’s team will use the funding to select a lead molecule and to prepare for clinical trials. Bluefield…