8 January 2007
Translational Medicine Research Collaboration announces first round of research project funding
The Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) - the unique venture bringing together one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies with Scotland’s finest medical research centres - today announced the first round of research projects to be funded through the new £50 million initiative.
Almost £8 million of funding has been released to support 28 new research projects covering a wide range of therapeutic areas including cardiovascular and metabolic disease, the central nervous system, oncology, inflammation, and women’s health.
The projects will commence imminently across Scotland and, as a result, over 40 new jobs have already been created in the universities while a further 50 new jobs are projected for the Core Laboratory which will be located in Dundee.
The Collaboration comprises four of Scotland’s leading universities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow), Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co, Scottish Enterprise and NHS Scotland Grampian, Greater Glasgow, Lothian and Tayside, and provides new impetus for Scotland to lead the world in the development of personalised medicine, bringing new treatments to patients suffering from a range of serious illnesses.
Professor Andrew Morris, chair of the TMRC Steering Group, said:
"This first large injection of medical research funding into Centres of Excellence across Scotland is an important milestone for TMRC. The spirit of collaboration between the partners has been fantastic, and we have already set our sights on supporting more researchers in innovative ways in the months ahead."
Frank Walsh, Executive Vice President of Wyeth Discovery, said:
"We are very excited about the quality of the science that will be conducted as a result of the first round of TMRC projects. Through this first round alone over 160 scientists across Scotland will be conducting research as part of this collaboration, the results of which could help drive the development of novel drugs for devastating diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer."
Further projects to be funded through TMRC are already in the pipeline and applications for a second round of funding are being invited from the scientific community in Scotland.
Contact
Stephen Sharp, Senior Media Relations Executive, Scottish Enterprise
Tel: 0141 228 7364
Mobile: 07786 126 629
Email: stephen.sharp@scotent.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
* The TMRC - Translational Medicine is a revolutionary new approach to developing new drugs and treatments by focussing research on new tests for the diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases. The TMRC consists of a central core Research Laboratory working with ‘Centres of Excellence’ in each of the four University Medical Schools. The Research Laboratory will be based at the University of Dundee, with 50 scientific jobs created in the first instance. The Collaboration also builds upon the development of a new Clinical Research Centre network across the four universities and the NHS in Grampian, Greater Glasgow, Lothian and Tayside.
* Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health. http://www.wyeth.com
* Translational Medicine is a revolutionary new approach to developing new drugs and treatments by focussing research on new tests for the diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases. These tests, called biomarkers, are new proteins or markers that can be measured in blood samples or X-rays of patients. They can then be used to follow the progress and response to the treatment of patients with diseases such as heart attacks, cancer, depression and osteoporosis.
Biomarkers can also help to develop new treatments. The Collaboration will include them in specialised clinical trials in Scotland working with the established network of doctors and researchers who conduct medical research to the highest ethical standards, whilst protecting patient confidentiality. These trials will facilitate the speed in getting new treatments from the laboratory to benefit patients in the clinic, with the potential to enhance patient care and treatments. It will also help adapt prescription drugs to individual needs so that doctors can discover which groups of patients respond best to which medicines, enabling resources to be targeted more effectively, and making sure that the right patients get the right treatments.
* More information on the other collaboration partners can be found on their web sites here:
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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