Drugs innovation centre will raise medicines development

A university in the United Kingdom is leading the way to advance innovation in a vast programme of the production of new medicines.

The details of a new centre that will improve production cost effectiveness and make drugs more widely available have been announced by University College London.

The Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Emergent Macromolecular Therapies is being funded by an EPSRC grant of 4.9 million pounds with a further 3.9 million investment provided by more than 25 founding industry partners.

The centre - to be led by University College London (UCL) in partnership with Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy - is part of a nationwide EPSRC investment of 51m pounds to ensure the UK stays at the leading edge of manufacturing research.

A total of eight post-doctoral researchers will undertake an integrated programme of work with a matching number of associate doctoral studentships, linked to academics outside the EPSRC Centre core.

Located in the Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering at UCL, the pioneering focus of work will be on antibody-based drugs for diseases such as cancers, severe arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

The EPSRC Centre has been established in order to address a range of emerging manufacturing challenges facing the UK biopharmaceutical sector. By lowering the manufacturing costs of drugs, it will simultaneously widen access to these therapies and reduce pressure on National Health Service (NHS) budgets.

Speaking to academic and industry collaborators at the launch of the EPSRC Centre, Nigel Titchener-Hooker, professor of biochemical engineering at UCL and the centre’s director, said: “This is a significant gain for UK bio-processing research and knowledge exchange. The new EPSRC Centre aims to improve the manufacture of macromolecular medicines which are more costly to manufacture and use than conventional medicines.

“If the manufacturing process and design of the final medicine are poor, costs rise and patient access is restricted due to budget pressures on providers such as the NHS. The vision for this EPSRC Centre is to effect a set of radical changes, making potential new therapies more generally available at a cost the economy can sustain,” added Professor Titchener-Hooker.

Continuing the theme, Professor Dave Delpy, EPSRC chief executive officer, said: “Our centres for innovative manufacturing are part of a new approach to maximise the impact of innovative research for the UK. They receive five years’ funding to retain staff, develop collaborations, carry out feasibility studies, and support up to two research projects.

“This lays firm foundations on which we hope further investment, including that from industry, can build. We have recently issued a call for the research community and business to present a case for further centres addressing other areas of innovation.”

The EPSRC Centres for Innovative Manufacturing are part of a novel approach to maximise the impact of innovative research for the UK, supporting existing industries and, more importantly, opening new industries and markets in growth areas.

The Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council says there is a clear business need for each centre and EPSRC support will be used as a platform from which the centres can secure further investment from industry and other funders.