David Willetts welcomes Universities Week with £48 million investment in biomedical research
9 Jun 2014 04:16 PM
David Willetts announces £48 million of
new investment in biomedical research.
David Willetts yesterday (9 June 2014) used his speech
at Bournemouth University to announce £48 million of new investment in
biomedical research.
More than 70 cutting edge research projects have been
chosen. They include a revolutionary blood test which can identify
Alzheimer’s, a potential new gene therapy for Parkinson’s Disease,
a new approach for treating cancerous tumours, and a wearable blanket providing
light therapy for jaundiced new-borns or conditions such as
psoriasis.
The
theme of this year’s Universities Week focuses on how university research impacts on
our everyday life. The week-long, nationwide event, will celebrate the
important role university research plays in improving people’s
lives.
Commenting after his speech, Universities and Science
Minister David Willetts said:
The
projects we are funding through the Biomedical Catalyst are testament to the
depth and quality of our British research base.
Investing in this research will not only help us to
realise treatments that could have remained trapped in the laboratory; but it
will ensure that the UK continues to lead the global race in research and
development.
The
UK life science industry is one of the world leaders; it is the third largest
contributor to economic growth in the UK with more than 4,000 companies,
employing around 160,000 people and with a total annual turnover of over
£50 billion. Its success is key to future economic growth and our goal to
rebalance the economy towards making new products and selling them to the
world. Globally the industry is changing with more focus on collaboration,
out-sourcing of research and earlier clinical trials with
patients.
The
Biomedical Catalyst is a scheme run jointly by the Medical Research Council and
the UK’s innovation agency (the Technology Strategy Board), to find
solutions to healthcare challenges. It supports the best life science
opportunities in the UK to help speed up the transition from discovery science
to commercial application.
Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy
Board said:
This round of funding is the latest in a series from the
Biomedical Catalyst, which has been successful in not just supporting
individual healthcare innovations, but also attracting additional investment
from industry.
The
companies we’ve supported via these funding rounds have all developed
innovations with the potential to transform healthcare approaches and achieve
commercial success. We’re proud to be supporting them on that journey
from healthcare concept through to availability in the
marketplace.
Professor Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the
Medical Research Council said:
Since its inception, the Biomedical Catalyst has awarded
over £170 million to UK scientists and businesses. This has been matched
by an additional £97 million of private investment, with more likely to
come as prospects are developed. The academic-industry partnerships forged
through this investment will help to improve lives by delivering the next
generation of innovative therapies and will help drive the UK
economy.
Other innovations being developed will tackle issues
around the treatment of cancerous tumours, atrial fibrillation, haemophilia,
eye disease, blood-borne infections, chronic pain, rheumatoid arthritis, youth
obesity, and Clostridium difficile.
Grant funding through the Biomedical Catalyst is
available to academics and UK small and medium sized businesses looking to
develop innovative solutions to healthcare challenges either individually or in
collaboration. Support is available for projects arising from any sector or
discipline.
Notes to editors:
1.Case studies.
Example academic-led projects:
Smartphone app to detect and monitor attentional
deficits in delirium.
Biomedical Catalyst funding will enable researchers at
the University of Edinburgh to develop a smartphone app that could help
diagnose delirium. Delirium (or acute confusional state) is a severe
deterioration in mental functioning that affects at least 1 in 8 of all acute
hospital patients. It is highly distressing for patients and carers, and has
multiple other adverse consequences including an increased risk of death.
However, despite the seriousness of the condition, there is a lack of objective
neuropsychological tests which can detect and monitor attentional deficits -
the key cognitive feature of delirium. Professor Alasdair MacLullich’s
team at the University of Edinburgh previously developed a computerised
neuropsychological test to measure attentional deficits as part of delirium
assessment. Using Catalyst funding they will now turn this test into a
smartphone app (the ‘DelApp’) and conduct clinical trials to see if
this can be used effectively in a hospital setting.
Intelligent prosthetic liners could ease pain for lower
limb amputees.
A
new device could help to relieve the pain and discomfort experienced by
thousands of amputees as a result of poorly fitting replacement lower limbs.
Researchers have been awarded Biomedical Catalyst funding to develop a
prototype of the world’s first prosthetic ‘intelligent’ liner
with integrated pressure sensors, which could be available
to NHS patients in as little as 3 years. The sensors for the device,
invented by Dr Liudi Jiang and colleagues at the University of Southampton,
measure the pressure and pulling forces at the interface between a
patient’s stump and the socket of their prosthesis. In excess these
pressures can cause tissue damage, leading to painful sores. The academic team
will work with a leading British company, Chas A Blatchford & Sons Ltd, to
fine-tune the design and develop the sensor into a range of thin prosthetic
liners to fit sockets of any shape and size.
Artificial blood to save lives in emergency
situations.
A
team of scientists at the University of Essex has been awarded Biomedical
Catalyst funding to develop a one-size-fits-all, third generation artificial
blood substitute with a shelf life of up to 2 years. Led by Professor Chris
Cooper, the research team are developing an artificial blood substitute, which
is a safe, long-lasting, virus-free alternative to current blood transfusions
that could be made available to all countries, immediately accessible at the
site of natural disasters. The innovation is based on haemoglobin, the key
protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen around our body. The Haem02 team
aim to create an artificial haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) that could
be used as a substitute for blood lost in surgery or trauma. The work at Essex
is co-funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC).
Example business-led projects:
Blood test to diagnose
Alzheimer’s.
Dementia is a growing problem with 800,000 people
affected in the UK alone. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common
accounting for 62% of cases. Parkinson’s disease is the next most common
neurological disorder and subsets of this disease also cause dementia as
well.
At
present there is no simple blood test that can accurately diagnose these
different diseases and that causes complications in prescribing the correct
treatment and also changing treatments quickly as they stop working. Proteins
have been measured in cerebro-spinal fluid but collection is painful, can cause
problems and cannot be used as a repeat monitoring diagnostic.
This approach brings together 3 technologies that allow
measurement of these proteins in blood and particularly the aggregated forms
which are thought to be toxic and cause the nerve damage in the brain. This
feasibility study will measure samples from Alzheimer’s disease patients
and change our understanding of diagnosis of this disease.
Ultrasound device to enhance cancer drug
delivery.
OxSonics is developing a range of ultrasound-based
medical devices including “SonoTran”, an innovative drug delivery
platform. SonoTran has the capability to overcome one of the greatest
challenges facing solid tumour cancer therapy by delivering drugs throughout
tumours including difficult to reach areas such as those that lie farthest from
blood vessels. Not only can SonoTran be applied to any cancer drug, it can also
provide on-screen feedback in real-time to the clinician as to where and when
drug delivery has taken place maximising the potential for complete tumour
coverage. Biomedical Catalyst funding will initially create 4 new jobs rising
to 24 new jobs by 2019 and support development of the SonoTran platform into
clinical trials.
2.Yesterday’s announcement includes 43 awards to
universities for academic-led projects (including £10.5 million to under
the MRC’s annual Confidence in Concept award) and 33 business-led
projects.
3.A
Catalyst is a form of research and development funding which focuses on a
specific priority area and aims to help take projects from research to as close
to commercial viability as possible. Three categories of grant are available
through the Catalyst: feasibility studies, early-stage awards and late-stage
awards.
4.The Technology
Strategy Board is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to
accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led
innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
(BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the
public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative
products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges
and help build the future economy.
5.The Medical
Research Council has been at the forefront of scientific discovery to
improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis,
the MRC now invests taxpayers’ money in some of the best
medical research in the world across every area of health.
Twenty-nine MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range
of disciplines, and MRCscientists have been behind such diverse
discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between
smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of
randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the
development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most
successful drugs ever developed. MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the
greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising
tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly
mutating micro-organisms.
6.For more details about the business-led awards please
contact Rod Alexander in the Technology Strategy Board media relations team.
Tel: 07500 051101. Email: rod.alexander@tsb.gov.uk Alternatively, contact the Technology
Strategy Board press office at 07766 901150. Email:pressoffice@tsb.gov.uk. Twitter: @TSBpressoffice
7.For further information about the academic awards,
please contact Hannah Isom in the Medical Research Council press office. Tel:
020 7395 2345 (out of hours: 07818 428 297). Email: press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk.