Stroke consortium to get €11m grant

Shares in biomarker specialist Proteome Sciences rose almost 5% on Monday morning after it announced the EU was to award €11m to a consortium of which it is a member.

Euro-HYP-1, a consortium of academic, clinical and industrial European partners that includes Proteome, has been awarded the grant for new research into the treatment of strokes.

The study will examine the benefits of cooling the brains of victims after they have had a stroke.

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Pilot studies had shown that cooling the brain within six hours of a stroke could be remarkably effective in saving patients and reducing brain damage, Proteome said.

The grant will be used to fund an EU-wide multicentre Phase 3 clinical trial in 25 countries involving 60 participating universities to treat 1,500 volunteer stroke victims with mild hypothermia.

"Early diagnosis and hypothermic therapy may provide a low cost and effective way to treat the 15m people annually who have a stroke and which is the second leading global cause of death," said Dr. Ian Pike, Chief Proteome's Operational Officer.

Shares in the firm were up 4.6% at 10.15am.