Bicycle will use a groundbreaking process developed by United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) to harvest the valuable medical isotope lead-212 from reprocessed uranium which can be used to help tackle some of the hardest-to-treat cancers.

Science and technology secretary Liz Kendall said: ‘Breakthroughs in medical science are giving more cancer patients and their loved ones hope, and this unique partnership could help take that work even further.

‘Turning nuclear material into cutting-edge cancer treatments sounds like science fiction – but thanks to the brilliance of scientists, researchers and doctors, it could be a life-saving reality. Work like this shows exactly why we're determined to support our life sciences innovators to make groundbreaking new treatments possible.'

Bicycle will extract lead-212 with a novel radioisotope generator, developed exclusively for them by medical isotope experts Spectron Rx.

The project followed the £20 million funding announced, last month, for research into lead-212 extraction being conducted by UKNNL and Medicines Discovery Catapult.