※HeptaresTL 20分前: Our Orbit research collaboration with the University of Cambridge discussed in Chemistry World.
※University–industry collaborations aspire to pharmaceutical innovation.
17 February 2017
Three new UK partnerships illustrate drug research co-operation approaches that are growing in popularity
Three collaborations have been established in the UK in recent weeks as universities and drug companies strive to discover new treatments together. And while they vary in size and approach,
they illustrate strategies research organisations are adopting in working together for mutual benefit.
StaR seeks to shine
Heptares Therapeutics, based at Biopark Welwyn Garden City, is collaborating with Anthony Davenport’s University of Cambridge team.
It builds on the group’s research on the apelin receptor, which is implicated in various cardiovascular diseases.
The collaboration will hunt novel apelin-modulating molecules, exploiting Heptares’ Stabilised Receptor (StaR) technology,
which helps get x-ray crystal structures of receptors and create stable antigens for therapeutic antibody discovery.
Heptares is funding a postdoctoral researcher in Davenport’s team, who will test potential drugs in human cardiovascular tissue.
Heptares’ chief scientific officer Fiona Marshall says that this will both ‘limit the use of animal experiments and provide more relevant data’.
This is just one programme in a £5 million overall initiative where Heptares is building collaborations with academics, Marshall emphasises.
Such programmes help Heptares understand receptor biology and provide exclusive access to novel assays for testing potential drug molecules.
The molecules and the protein structures that Heptares can provide also serve as tools to help its academic partners study receptors.
The partnerships shouldn’t have any trouble balancing academic desire to publish high-profile papers with industrial needs to carefully protect IP, Marshall adds.
Heptares initially patents the molecules, she explains, but is then keen to publish the associated research together with its collaborators.
***
※HeptaresTL 20分前: Our Orbit research collaboration with the University of Cambridge discussed in Chemistry World.
※University–industry collaborations aspire to pharmaceutical innovation.
17 February 2017
Three new UK partnerships illustrate drug research co-operation approaches that are growing in popularity
Three collaborations have been established in the UK in recent weeks as universities and drug companies strive to discover new treatments together. And while they vary in size and approach,
they illustrate strategies research organisations are adopting in working together for mutual benefit.
StaR seeks to shine
Heptares Therapeutics, based at Biopark Welwyn Garden City, is collaborating with Anthony Davenport’s University of Cambridge team.
It builds on the group’s research on the apelin receptor, which is implicated in various cardiovascular diseases.
The collaboration will hunt novel apelin-modulating molecules, exploiting Heptares’ Stabilised Receptor (StaR) technology,
which helps get x-ray crystal structures of receptors and create stable antigens for therapeutic antibody discovery.
Heptares is funding a postdoctoral researcher in Davenport’s team, who will test potential drugs in human cardiovascular tissue.
Heptares’ chief scientific officer Fiona Marshall says that this will both ‘limit the use of animal experiments and provide more relevant data’.
This is just one programme in a £5 million overall initiative where Heptares is building collaborations with academics, Marshall emphasises.
Such programmes help Heptares understand receptor biology and provide exclusive access to novel assays for testing potential drug molecules.
The molecules and the protein structures that Heptares can provide also serve as tools to help its academic partners study receptors.
The partnerships shouldn’t have any trouble balancing academic desire to publish high-profile papers with industrial needs to carefully protect IP, Marshall adds.
Heptares initially patents the molecules, she explains, but is then keen to publish the associated research together with its collaborators.
ttps://www.chemistryworld.com/news/universityindustry-collaborations-aspire-to-pharmaceutical-innovation/2500424.article