The RVC signs scientific collaboration agreement with Forcefield Therapeutics to assess novel treatments for heart disease
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has signed a scientific collaboration agreement with Forcefield Therapeutics to expand its research in precision cut tissue slices (PCTS) organ platforms to enhance the development of new therapeutic treatments in cardiovascular medicine, for the benefit of both human and animal health.
PCTS organ platforms have become increasingly used to recreate physiologically relevant 3D microenvironments, enabling the testing of drug efficacy and toxicity on tissue-like behaviour outside the body. While increasingly used in the context of understanding human health, these technologies are just emerging in use in veterinary medicine. This is, in part, due to regulatory efforts to reduce animal testing through innovations in organ-platforms, computational models and next-generation in vitro assays.
Within veterinary medicine, these technologies can be used to clarify host-pathogen interactions, guide targeted interviews and support personalised therapies for companion animals or vaccine development in farmed animals. Their use also aligns with the 3Rs – replacing or avoiding the use of animals in research and testing, reducing the number of animals used to achieve scientific objectives and refining scientific procedures and other factors to reduce suffering and improve animals’ welfare. Additionally, greater development and adoption of these technologies in animals can also inform human applications, supporting a One Health approach.
Forcefield Therapeutics is a London-based biotech which is developing therapeutics to preserve heart function following acute myocardial infarction (AMI, also known as a heart attack). The cardioprotective proteins it has developed reduce cell death, enhance cellular repair and limit fibrosis. This innovative approach addresses a critical unmet need in cardiovascular medicine, in which rapid loss of cardiomyocytes after AMI often leads to chronic heart failure.
Through this collaboration, Forcefield Therapeutics will benefit from the RVC’s expertise in the reduction of animal usage with state-of-the-art 3D ex vivo tissue models to further the understanding of its cardioprotective proteins and help to validate a large animal model as a confirmatory step towards human studies. These studies will allow not only assessment of functionality, but also provide insights into potential safety issues, thus decreasing the number and risks during subsequent animal studies. The collaboration will also enable the RVC to develop new and potentially ground-breaking discoveries for companion animals suffering from similar heart conditions, allowing the already existing state-of-the art cardiology service to really work from ‘bench to application’.
Dr Dirk Werling, Professor of Molecular Immunology at the RVC, and Director of the Centre for Vaccinology and Regenerative Medicine, said:
“I am really delighted that Forcefield Therapeutics decided to collaborate with the RVC on testing their amazing approaches. If successful, their approach will aid protective medicine approaches for human medicine, but also potentially, in the longer term, aid treatment strategies for similar conditions in companion animals, thus directly linking exciting research to applied treatment through our cardiologists working on the Queen Mother Hospital.”
Dan Gliddon, COO of Forcefield Therapeutics, said:
“We are excited to work with the RVC to establish new ex vivo myocardial models and investigate cardioprotection in this setting. We are committed to innovating in translational pharmacology to develop effective therapeutics in an area of such need, and to meet the evolving needs of drug development.”
Notes to Editors
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About the RVC
- The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.
- It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with associated recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and AVMA (probationary) in the USA and Canada.
- The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2025.
- The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
- The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
- The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.
About Forcefield Therapeutics Ltd.
Forcefield Therapeutics Ltd (Forcefield) is a pioneer of first-in-class therapeutics to retain heart function via protection of cardiomyocytes.
Forcefield was founded by scientists, industry experts and investors with a shared purpose to revolutionise treatment following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Forcefield’s unique approach can both retain and protect heart cells, minimising the impact of AMI and preventing the cascade of events that may lead to subsequent heart failure. Forcefield Tx is led by a proven team with a record of success from discovery to commercialisation. It launched in April 2022 and is backed by Syncona and Roche Venture Fund.
For more information please visit: forcefieldtx.com
