Innovation community news – July 

Image caption: ©Tokamak Energy. All Rights Reserved.

A summary of recent news and announcements from Milton Park-based companies: 

• Physiomics appoints Head of Biometrics and signs its first biometrics contracts 
• Recursion releases next generation AI model for drug discovery 
• Replimune Group presents encouraging data from cancer treatment 
• Tokamak Energy advances partnership toward limitless fusion energy

Physiomics appoints Head of Biometrics and signs its first biometrics contracts 

Milton Park-based mathematical modelling, data science and biostatistics company Physiomics, has announced the recruitment of Jesse Thissen as Head of Biometrics, as well as the signing of the company’s first ever two biometrics contracts.  

Bringing in these initial two new contracts worth a combined estimate of £111,000, Jesse Thissen will be responsible for leading Physiomics’ service-line and will be instrumental in supporting the company to further expand its biometrics offering. 

Dr Peter Sargent, Chief Executive Officer of Physiomics, commented: “This is a very exciting time for us here at Physiomics. The recruitment of Jesse as our Head of Biometrics and these two contract awards mark a significant milestone in one of the company’s key growth initiatives. 

“Due to the complementarity of biometrics with modelling and simulation, this new service-line will not only enable us to offer a broader integrated solution to our clients but allow us to service a much larger market.” 

Recursion releases next generation AI model for drug discovery 

Milton Park-based TechBio company Recursion and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and Jameel Clinic have announced the release of Boltz-2. This powerful model, now freely available, is the first of its kind designed specifically to understand how molecules behave and interact in the body. 

Trained using Recursion’s NVIDIA supercomputer, Boltz-2 sets a new standard in accurately predicting the shape and behaviour of complex biological structures, potentially speeding up the development of new medicines and treatments. 

Najat Khan, Chief Research and Development Officer and Chief Commercial Officer at Recursion, commented: “Selecting the right molecules early is one of the most fundamental challenges in drug discovery, with implications for whether R&D programmes succeed or fail. 

“Collaborations like this, bridging academic innovation and industry application, play an important role in advancing the field and ultimately, improving how we develop and deliver medicines for patients.” 

Replimune Group presents new analyses from melanoma study 

Replimune shared encouraging new data on its experimental cancer treatment, RP1 at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.  

The treatment, based on a proprietary strain of herpes simplex virus, tested in combination with nivolumab, showed strong results in patients with melanoma that hadn’t responded to previous therapies, especially in shrinking tumours in the liver and lungs.  

Kostas Xynos Chief Medical Officer of Replimune commented: “The new analyses we presented from the IGNYTE clinical trial of RP1 plus nivolumab in anti-PD-1 failed melanoma confirms our belief in the systemic activity of the combination and also shows robust responses in injected liver and lung lesions with an acceptable safety profile.” 

Tokamak Energy advances partnership toward limitless fusion energy  

Following an international partnership between the UK and Japanese governments to collaborate on fusion energy, Tokamak Energy and Furukawa Electric Group have agreed to establish a joint operational base in Japan to manufacture critical fusion energy power plant magnet technology. 

Together the companies are supporting the FAST (Fusion Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) development project, which aims to demonstrate fusion-based electricity generation in the 2030s. 

The partners will also pursue other uses for Tokamak Energy’s high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology to unlock sustainability in a range of industries including science and medicine. 

Warrick Matthews, Tokamak Energy CEO, said: “Our magnet technology is an essential part of turning the promise of limitless clean fusion energy into commercial reality. This new venture with Furukawa Electric Group will ramp up our manufacturing capabilities and open a new era of superconducting performance in a range of sectors, from powering data centres to revolutionising electric zero emission motors. Together we can make a global impact by transforming industry and driving innovation.” 

Climate Minister, Kerry McCarthy MP, said: “The UK is optimally positioned for global fusion investment and by working closely with Japan we are developing fusion energy – delivering on our clean energy superpower mission and creating jobs in the industries of the future, all part of our Plan for Change. 

“Global partnerships such as this one will advance technological developments and help unlock limitless clean fusion power, bringing a fusion energy future closer to a reality.” 

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