REG - Imaging Biometrics - KIRKSTALL AWARDED BBSRC/NC3Rs GRANT: GLIOBLASTOMA

Imaging BiometricsAnnouncement

08/05/2026 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260508:nRSH4862Da&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 4862D  Imaging Biometrics Limited  08 May 2026

 

Imaging Biometrics Limited

("IBAI" or the "Company")

 

KIRKSTALL AWARDED BBSRC/NC3Rs GRANT FOR GLIOBLASTOMA 'TUMOUR ON A CHIP'
RESEARCH

 

Imaging Biometrics Limited, the Main Market listed healthcare technology
group, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary Kirkstall Limited
("Kirkstall") has been selected as an industry partner in a collaborative
research programme focused on developing a living glioblastoma 'tumour on a
chip' model, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University ("NTU").

 

Background

Kirkstall is a pioneer in organ-on-a-chip technology, developing microfluidic
platforms that replicate the behaviour of living human tissue outside the
body. Its Quasi Vivo® system enables cells and tissues to be maintained under
physiologically relevant flow conditions, making it an established tool in
academic and pharmaceutical research settings globally.

 

The Research Programme

The programme is led by Professor Gareth Cave of NTU's School of Science and
Technology and aims to create a microfluidic 'tumour on a chip' system capable
of mimicking the key features of the human brain environment in which
glioblastoma develops - the most aggressive form of brain cancer in adults.
Despite current standard of care comprising surgery, radiotherapy and
chemotherapy, most patients survive just ten to fifteen months following
diagnosis, with fewer than 6% of patients surviving beyond five years.

A central challenge in glioblastoma drug development is the blood-brain
barrier - the brain's natural protective shield - which makes it difficult for
therapeutic compounds to reach tumour cells. Existing preclinical models,
including animal-based systems, often fail to accurately replicate this
barrier, meaning many potential drugs show promise in early testing but do not
work in patients.

The Kirkstall platform will be used to grow human-derived cells inside a
microfluidic chip to form a blood-brain barrier, before introducing
glioblastoma cells to model how tumours develop and how candidate drug
compounds traverse the barrier and reach the cancer. Fluid will flow through
the device in a manner analogous to blood movement through vessels, enabling
the cells to behave as they would in the human body. Advanced imaging
techniques - including microscopy, ultrasound and MRI - will be employed to
monitor tumour development and drug penetration.

By creating a more accurate, human-relevant platform for testing
chemotherapies, the programme aims to improve the likelihood of promising
drugs reaching patients, and could also reduce the need for large numbers of
animals in early-stage glioblastoma drug studies.

 

Further information is available at:
https://nc3rs.org.uk/our-portfolio/development-vascularised-glioblastoma-tumour-chip-predictive-non-invasive
(https://nc3rs.org.uk/our-portfolio/development-vascularised-glioblastoma-tumour-chip-predictive-non-invasive)

Funding

The study has been awarded funding under a new joint initiative between the
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council ("BBSRC") and the
National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in
Research ("NC3Rs"), through their Business Interaction Voucher scheme.
Kirkstall is a co-funder of the programme alongside these research councils.

Professor Gareth Cave, lead researcher at NTU, has described the project as
having the potential to fundamentally change how glioblastoma treatments are
developed, representing an important step toward more predictive, ethical and
impactful cancer research.

Strategic Significance

Trevor Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Imaging Biometrics, said:

 "This grant award is an early validation of our strategy in acquiring
 Kirkstall. We now have two complementary platforms addressing the same disease
 - Kirkstall's organ-on-a-chip technology modelling the tumour
 microenvironment, and Imaging Biometrics' MRI analysis software monitoring how
 tumours behave and respond to treatment. The opportunity to bring those
 capabilities together within a single group, working on glioblastoma from
 bench to bedside, is exactly the kind of convergence we envisaged when we
 completed the acquisition in October. We look forward to updating shareholders
 as this programme progresses."

 Trevor Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Imaging Biometrics Limited

 

The Directors believe this programme demonstrates the continued scientific
relevance and commercial potential of the Kirkstall platform in high-value
oncology and central nervous system drug development - sectors characterised
by acute unmet clinical need and significant pharmaceutical research
expenditure.

The programme further strengthens Kirkstall's relationship with the NC3Rs and
with leading academic and regulatory bodies that are increasingly directing
pharmaceutical sponsors toward human-relevant, animal-free testing
methodologies. The Directors regard this recognition as an important
validation of Kirkstall's technology by peer-reviewed scientific institutions.

The Company will provide further updates on the progress of this research
programme in due course.

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this
announcement.

 For further information, please contact:

 

 Imaging Biometrics Limited

 Trevor Brown/Brett Skelly/Michael Schmainda

 Tel: 020 7469 0930
 AlbR Capital Limited (Corporate Broker)

 Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey

 Tel: 020 7220 9797

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). Upon the
publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this
inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

 

Notes to Editors

About Imaging Biometrics Limited

Imaging Biometrics Limited is an LSE-listed healthcare technology group
focused on quantitative neuroimaging software and organ-on-a-chip technology.
Its principal subsidiary, Imaging Biometrics LLC, is a world leader in
advanced MRI analysis software used in the assessment of brain tumours, with
products distributed globally including through a commercial agreement with GE
HealthCare. Kirkstall Limited, acquired by IBAI in October 2025, develops the
Quasi Vivo® organ-on-a-chip platform for use in pharmaceutical research,
toxicology testing and disease modelling.

About Kirkstall Limited

Kirkstall Limited is a biotechnology company specialising in microfluidic
organ-on-a-chip systems. Its Quasi Vivo® platform enables cells to be
maintained under physiological flow conditions that closely mimic the human
body, providing pharmaceutical and academic researchers with more predictive
and human-relevant in vitro models. Kirkstall has an established international
distributor network spanning the United States, China and South Korea.

About Nottingham Trent University

NTU owns two Queen's Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in
research (2015, 2021). The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of
NTU's research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
Professor Gareth Cave and his team in the School of Science and Technology
work at the interface of pharmaceutical science and biomedical engineering.

About the NC3Rs/BBSRC Business Interaction Voucher Scheme

The Business Interaction Voucher scheme is a joint funding initiative from the
NC3Rs and BBSRC designed to support collaboration between academic researchers
in the NC3Rs network and commercial partners. The scheme aims to accelerate
the development and adoption of human-relevant, animal-free research
technologies.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  RESUPUMGAUPQGAM



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved