Renewed Partnership Set to Boost Discovery of New Medicines

Research and development into new drug treatments is set to benefit from collaboration between the University of Exeter and Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC), following the expansion of their strategic partnership.

MDC reshapes drug discovery for patient benefit, by transforming great UK science into better treatments through partnership. It works to tackle industry-led challenges and overcome the barriers that limit today’s drug discovery with effective interventions.

To discover new medicines, high-quality research must be translated into new drug candidates or technologies through an industrial process of refinement and structured experimentation. Sharing skills and experience between academia and industry is critical to this process, by enabling a faster transition of knowledge and potentially speeding up the discovery of successful medicines.

The partnership aims to accelerate this sharing process, by connecting MDC’s industrial skills, networks, technologies and discovery platforms with the University of Exeter’s world-leading research – ranked 100% for research impact in Health and Life Sciences (REF21).

Activities of focus for the collaboration will include:

• Identifying research that can be supported at its earliest stages
• Exploring ways that internships and collaborative projects can be facilitated to support the translation of research between the organisations
• Developing and delivering more positive impacts and outcomes from scientific research, by connecting shared interests, networks, and facilities
• Exploring new ways to sustain the development of these positive outcomes, through new funding schemes and collaborations.

Professor Neil Gow, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Exeter, said: “We’re delighted to announce the expansion of our strategic partnership for another three years. This new chapter will see us expand our areas of collaboration, bringing greater opportunities to support translational research and drive innovation in the health and life sciences sector.”

Volker Hirsch, Chief Commercial Officer at Medicines Discovery Catapult, said: “Collaboration is key to success in our vital mission to get medicines to patients faster. MDC’s strategic partnership with the University of Exeter helps to facilitate the vital crossover between industry and academia. We look forward to sharing our skills, technology and networks, to support more innovators advance their medicines to the clinic.”

 

More information

Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation and part of the Catapult Network established by Innovate UK. MDC’s vision is to reshape drug discovery for patient benefit by transforming great UK science into better treatments through partnership. MDC supports drug discovery innovators by making world-class expertise, facilities, complex technologies and advanced analytics accessible. We connect the life sciences ecosystem, driving a global focus on barriers to innovation in areas of unmet patient and technological need.By industrialising new technologies to drive the adoption of new scientific tools and techniques, MDC enables successful medicines discovery.

The University of Exeter is a world-class research institution, ranking in the Top 150 of the THE and QS World University Rankings. Each year, the University of Exeter delivers over 2000 projects with our partners in government and industry. We believe impact is about making a difference, and our world-class researchers have an excellent track record in making valuable contributions to our society, economy and the environment. Our world-leading research impact has grown 74% since 2014, more than any other Russell Group University.