Nexxus Scotland

Therapeutic capability clusters in inflammatory and respiratory diseases - open meeting announced

09 February 2010

The UK is a world leader in Life Sciences, with innovative academic/clinical, pharmaceutical and medical (bio)technology sectors. A thriving and integrated UK Life Sciences industry in close collaboration with academia and the NHS, plays a vital role in driving economic growth and supports world-class healthcare delivery.

In July 2009, the Government published the Life Sciences Blueprint, a comprehensive package of high-impact measures to support economic growth and strong healthcare delivery. The Blueprint called for a new approach to collaboration in life sciences that would engage academic/NHS communities with the life sciences industry. The aim would be to develop new drug and medicine interventions for patient and economic benefit.

From this, the concept of Therapeutic Capability Clusters was born, in which academic/NHS centres with expertise in specific therapeutic areas come together to work more closely with industry on early clinical development of new drugs and interventions. This would bring patient and economic benefits, and further scientific pursuit and endeavour in areas of high therapeutic need.

This is a new pilot which will change the way research is done in translational medicine, and we would like to invite centres to be there from the start of this exciting development.

Each Therapeutic Capability Cluster will comprise of:

• Several academic and NHS research centres of excellence with relevant capabilities and a range of enabling technologies and
• A single point of contact to coordinate the collective activities of the academic/NHScentres forming the cluster and its interface with industry.

Scope of the pilot Therapeutic Capability Clusters
The pilot capability cluster will be in the area of Inflammation and Immunity (I&I). This therapeutic area is to be taken forward by 2 pilot clusters in:

• Inflammatory respiratory diseases. (e.g. Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)).
• Joint & related inflammatory diseases. This involves inflammatory joint diseases and those that relate to and inform on them (e.g. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis. Related condition such as Systemic Lupus
  Erythematosus, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Psoriasis may also be included.

Open Meeting objective

If you are a UK NHS/academic researcher with expertise that is relevant to the above 2 areas, and you feel that you have something unique to bring to such cluster(s), we invite you to the Open Meeting as an opportunity to find out more about the concept. The deadline for applications is 12 noon, Monday, 29 March 2010. Application packs for taking part are posted here. 

Invitation to an Open Meeting

Wednesday, 3 March 2010, 9.30-14.00

Central Hall Westminster (George Thomas Suite),
Storey's Gate,
London SW1H 9NH

The UK NHS/academic community is invited to attend an Open Meeting hosted by Professor Sir John Bell and Dr Richard Barker on Wednesday 3 March 2010. The meeting aims to introduce the concept of the new Therapeutic Capability Cluster initiative, and specifically to facilitate the formation of the first two pilot capability clusters in:

• Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases
• Joint & Related Inflammatory Diseases

PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS FREE EVENT HERE: www.eventsforce.net/tcc2010

Allocation of spaces will be subject to availability.

PROGRAMME
09.30 Registration
10.00 Welcome: Professor Sir John Bell and Dr Richard Barker
10.10 The industry perspective (facilitated by Dr Mark Edwards)

• Immunology and inflammation research: What are Industry's challenges in human exploratory development? (Dr Olivier Harari, UCB)
• Clinical infrastructure: What does industry's ideal cluster partner need to deliver? (Dr David Sciberras, Amgen)
• New ways of working: What can industry bring to the partnership? (Dr Richard Marshall, GSK)
• What does success looks like for all? (Dr John Stageman, AZ)

11.10 Tea/coffee break (15 min)
11.25 The clinical academic / funders' perspective: Why get involved? (facilitated by Dr Monika Preuss)

• Why get involved? (Professor Sir Alex Markham, Leeds University)
• The funders perspective. (Dr Russell Hamilton, NIHR)
• The funders perspective. (Dr John Jeans, MRC)

12.10 Lunch break (30 min)
12.40 Questions & Answers with the panel (chaired by Professor Sir John Bell)
13.45 Concluding remarks: Professor Sir John Bell and Dr Richard Barker

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