Stevenage, UK, Monday 19th May 2014 – Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), the UK’s first open innovation bioscience campus, and Manchester: Integrating Medicine and Innovative Technology (MIMIT) have joined forces with the Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) Technology Transfer Organisations across England to launch an exciting new funding call - an open innovation challenge in neurodegenerative disease1. The challenge has been developed to address unmet healthcare needs in this high priority area.
SBC and MIMIT will use an open innovation approach, encouraging collaboration to address some of the many challenges in relation to neurodegenerative disorders. The two main research themes selected include biomarkers used for diagnosis and stratification; and the role of inflammation in neurodegenerative disorders.
Previous successful initiatives arising from the AHSC collaborations with MIMIT were funded jointly between the Technology Transfer Organisations and the National Innovation Centre. They have included an initial project on Hospital-Acquired Infection and a second project on unmet healthcare needs in relation to enhancing functional independence, supported by Arthritis Research UK. This approach has engaged patients and carers in the process of defining unmet healthcare needs.
AHSC Technology Transfer Organisations involved in this call are Cambridge Enterprise, Imperial Innovations Ltd, King’s Business, UCL Business PLC, University of Manchester Intellectual Property Ltd, and will now be joined by Oxford University, the most recent AHSC member.
A key aim of SBC is to pioneer a culture of open innovation that will place the UK bioscience sector at the forefront of worldwide biomedical discovery and deliver cutting edge healthcare solutions. Supported by Government, business, and the charitable sector, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst offers a fertile environment for scientific innovation and commercial success, and aims to be a catalyst for converting innovative ideas into commercial reality.
Allan Baxter, Chairman of SBC said: “We are delighted to be a part of this exciting network, a real example of open innovation with a focus on neurodegenerative disease, an area of such enormous unmet clinical need; we are looking forward to progressing this specific project with the Academic Health Science Centres and MIMIT and to obtaining tangible outcomes that we can help translate into commercial reality and patient benefit, with the help of SBC’s extensive community of experts.”
1 To register for more information and apply log on to the colab portal here. The deadline for initial applications is midnight on Friday 4th July 2014.
For further information and any interest in joining the collaboration and pooled funding initiatives please contact Professor Jackie Oldham, Director of MIMIT (jackie.oldham@manchester.ac.uk)
For more information, please contact:
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
Martino Picardo, CEO +44 (0)1438 906906
Miranda Knaggs, Sales, Marketing & Events Manager
miranda.knaggs@stevenagecatalyst.com
Dr Beverley Vaughan, Executive Liaison
beverley.vaughan@stevenagecatalyst.com
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About Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is the UK’s first open innovation bioscience campus, pioneering a unique culture to drive early stage bioscience technology and company development, and building a thriving community. It is backed by £38m of funding from its founding partners – GlaxoSmithKline, the Wellcome Trust, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Technology Strategy Board and the former East of England Development Agency. Consisting of an Incubator, an Accelerator and a Hub, covering 60,000 sq ft of laboratory, office and networking space, the independent facility houses a range of companies, from virtual and start-up firms to those which are more established, as well as other organisations. Located on the GlaxoSmithKline Stevenage site, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is in the unique position of operating in proximity to the expertise and resources of a major pharmaceutical company, close to both London and Cambridge. For more information, please go to www.stevenagecatalyst.com.
About Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst’s stakeholders
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst’s stakeholders are GlaxoSmithKline (www.gsk.com), the Wellcome Trust (www.wellcome.ac.uk), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (www.bis.gov.uk), the Technology Strategy Board (www.innovateuk.org) and the former East of England Development Agency (www.eeda.org.uk)
Collaborating AHSCs for the Open Innovation Challenge in Neurodegenerative Diseases include:
Emma Palmer Foster
Strategic Communications Consultant
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
m: +44 (0) 7880 787185
www.stevenagecatalyst.com
@SteBioCat
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
Gunnels Wood Road
Stevenage
Hertfordshire SG1 2FX
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