September News Roundup
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Global AMR challenge receives a £5m boost to drive diagnostics innovation
PACE (Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy) has today launched its second funding round with up to £5 million available to support cutting-edge diagnostic projects. This funding is part of a broader £30 million investment to address the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
PACE is one of the UK’s largest public-private initiatives targeting early-stage antimicrobial drug and diagnostic discovery. The pioneering partnership between LifeArc, Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) and Innovate UK is driving the development of new tests and treatments to tackle deadly AMR, which is predicted to kill 39.1 million people globally between 2025 and 2050.
New NHC Service launched to accelerate gene therapy development
VecTUs has been created through the efforts of academic staff at the National Horizons Centre, Teesside University’s national centre of excellence for bioscience and healthcare.
BioVectors are specially designed carriers used to deliver genetic material like DNA or RNA into cells.They are important in gene therapy as they can be used to safely transport and deliver genetic material to fix or replace faulty genes in a person’s cells to treat or prevent diseases. Many of the academics involved in launching VecTUs have previously worked on developing gene therapies that are now in clinical testing.
CF AMR Syndicate announces first awardees of £3m Collaborative Drug Discovery Programme
The £3 million programme, funded by LifeArc, will support six early-stage novel antimicrobial projects over two years to accelerate new treatments for lung infections in people with CF.
The programme, delivered by the CF AMR Syndicate's managing partners (Medicines Discovery Catapult, LifeArc and Cystic Fibrosis Trust), offers a unique collaborative approach to drug discovery and development.
University of Liverpool spin-out, AI-Sight, funding and collaboration success
University of Liverpool AI diagnostic technology spin-out, AI-Sight, has successfully concluded its seven-figure equity funding round from experienced healthcare industry figures and investors.
The funders, committed to developing innovation and business in the North West of England, include Sir Michael Bibby (Chairman of the Bibby Line Group and Hon PhD, University of Liverpool), Phil Kirby (former Managing Director of InHealth Intelligence), Pitalia Capital (the family office of Anil Pitalia, Founder of SpaMedica) and Deepbridge Capital.
Launch of Manchester Metropolitan University’s new report, Force for Impact
In 2021 Manchester Met published its first impact report, Force for Change. This highlighted how degree apprenticeships help to improve social mobility and increase opportunities for learners from diverse backgrounds.
The follow-up report, Force for Impact goes one step further by demonstrating the substantial impact of our Degree Apprenticeships across various sectors. The report underscores how these programmes are not just meeting the educational and skills needs of the UK workforce but are also playing a vital role in driving social mobility, improving productivity, and fostering diversity within workplaces.
Major milestone as first tenant signs up for £100million science park expansion
Filtronic will move into custom-built headquarters within the £100million Phase 3 extension to the North East Technology Park (NETPark) at Sedgefield in 2025.
An existing tenant of the park, the award-winning manufacturer’s new facility will more than double its operational footprint.
Cancer Research Horizons and LifeArc launch C-Further
A pioneering £28m (USD$36m) international initiative, encompassing both resources and funding, has been announced today by Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK, and LifeArc to develop new medicines exclusively for children’s and young people’s cancers.
Cancer Research Horizons launches start-up Suil Vision to develop virtual reality data visualisation tool
Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK, has launched the start-up Suil Vision to develop virtual reality software that enables immersive, multi-dimensional data analysis for almost any type of biological data.
Due to the increasing size and complexity of the data generated by new technologies in life sciences, improving data visualisation and analysis is more important than ever. Using the unique medium of virtual reality, Suil Vision aims to develop a powerful data visualisation and analysis tool that is compatible with many data sources and accessible to researchers with limited programming skills. It will preserve the position, type, shape, and genetic data of each cell.
University of Liverpool excels in Research England's Knowledge Exchange results
The 2024 KEF4 results show that we remain in the top quintile (Quintile 5, representing very high engagement) for Research Partnerships, Working with Business and Working with the Public and Third Sector, exceeding the average score for the cluster.
We have increased our performance in IP and Commercialisation where we now sit in the top quintile. The results also recognise our high engagement (Quintile 4) in Public and Community Engagement, which is in line with the cluster average.
How Sunderland’s School of Pharmacy is celebrating a decade of success
The University of Sunderland’s School of Pharmacy has seen a decade of continued success in training the next generation of pharmacists.
Ten years ago, the University of Sunderland set up its own foundation training provision in partnership with community pharmacy MD & AG Burdon, to provide an academia/community training post similar to those that usually occur in hospitals, GP practices or community pharmacies.
Liverpool Life Sciences UTC students launch Baltic Research Journal
This exciting new edition of the Baltic Research Journal showcases the exceptional research conducted by students at the Baltic Research Institute at Liverpool Life Sciences UTC (sponsored by the University of Liverpool) and The Studio School Liverpool. All of the original research reported here is carried out by students aged 13-19 and peer-reviewed by sixth form students who are part of the editorial team.
HGF launches forward-thinking and inclusive parental leave policy
This policy positions HGF as the first Intellectual Property firm in the UK to provide all eligible colleagues, irrespective of gender with access to the best parental leave and pay offering, including up to 52 weeks’ leave with 26 weeks at full pay.