At Prosemle, we’re leading the next generation of targeted drug delivery technology by combining protein-based nanoparticles with artificial intelligence to build new drug formulations to treat cancer. It’s very exciting to receive this funding, which we hope will help us develop a more effective treatment for EGFR-positive lung cancer.
Dr Julien Bergeron, Senior Lecturer in Electron Microscopy at King’s and co-founder and CEO of Prosemble
15 October 2025
King's spin-out company awarded Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst funding
King's College London spin-out company Prosemble, co-founded by Dr Julien Bergeron, has been awarded Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst to transform cancer care with cutting-edge nanoparticle and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
The funding award of £98,000 will help the Prosemble team to use its drug discovery pipeline to identify and develop a new therapeutic for a type of lung cancer.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. The Biomedical Catalyst aims to help small and medium-sized businesses test and develop innovative health and care solutions across life sciences, including therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health.
Prosemble’s mission is to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatments while minimising their side effects. To do this, they are using advanced nanoparticle technology – in this case, proteins – to act as delivery systems to carry cancer drugs to tumours. In combination, the team is using AI to analyse pre-clinical and clinical data to find the most effective combination of drugs, or ‘drug cocktails,’ against specific cancer types.
The inspiration behind the spinout’s nanoparticle technology stemmed from Dr Bergeron’s time as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, where he identified a previously unknown bacterial protein. Years later, after moving to King’s, Dr Bergeron and his team used advanced cryo-electron microscopes to study the protein (which they named BeeR) in greater detail. They discovered it had a tube-like structure with a hollow cavity at its centre.
Not only does the unique structure of BeeR make it a suitable vessel to carry drugs, but the assembly and disassembly of the protein can be controlled with a chemical called ATP – providing a simple way of delivering and releasing the drugs at a desired location in the body.
Since the discovery, Dr Bergeron has been working with the Prosemble team to optimise the nanoparticle technology and develop the pipeline. Last year, the company was one of 10 King’s spinouts that formed the first cohort of the King’s Spinout Accelerator – a 12-month programme that supports the translation of inventions born from ground-breaking research across King’s. The programme provided dedicated mentorship for Innovate UK grant writing, which Dr Bergeron says was instrumental to this funding award.
If the team can identify the right drug cocktail using the Prosemble pipeline, verify in cell models that it works with their nanoparticles and is effective and less toxic than current chemotherapies, they will then look to move this forward into clinical development – with the aim of bringing a kinder, more effective treatment to people with EGFR-positive lung cancer.
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