18 October 2011
University of Dundee enters into a collaboration agreement with TPP Global Development to establish a drug development fund
The University of Dundee has announced a collaboration agreement with TPP Global Development Ltd to establish a drug development fund.
The fund, which will be known as the Target Development Fund, has been set up with the support of TPP Global Development (TPP), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the University of Dundee to enable the development of drug discovery opportunities into the therapeutics of tomorrow. The activities of the fund will centre around the UK’s leading academic centre for drug discovery and development, the University of Dundee’s Drug Development Unit (DDU).
The Target Development Fund will be making a call for projects from the 18 October 2011, targeting the most exciting ideas from universities and research institutes worldwide (for application details see www.tppgd.com).
The fund will support the translation of world-class life sciences research into early phase drug discovery and development projects that address a clear unmet medical need. The data packages generated around these projects will demonstrate the appropriate disease model-based validation required to make them highly attractive to potential licensing partners from within the pharmaceutical industry.
Projects developed within the fund will be able to leverage the respective strengths and synergies between the collaboration partners. TPP brings scientific and commercialisation expertise, a global network of contacts and the ability to access downstream investment funds. The Target Development Fund will fuse TPP’s core competencies with the DDU’s world-class chemoinformatics modelling and early stage drug discovery expertise and infrastructure.
TPP is a UK-based, biotech company focused on developing preclinical drug development programmes to a commercialization point at which they can be licensed to large pharmaceutical/biotech companies, or spun out into separate standalone operating companies. The intellectual property behind TPP’s programmes originates from a number of sources, including universities, research institutes and industry as well as internally generated ideas. TPP seeks genuine partnerships with academic researchers throughout the UK, Europe, US and Asia in order to facilitate the successful translation of the most novel and exciting ideas into safe and effective drugs.
Dr Tom Brown, TPP's CEO commented, 'We are delighted to have entered into this agreement and to work with Dundee’s world class drug development unit. TPP, the University of Dundee and the SFC have a common vision to see the successful translation of the early stage research into medicines that benefit patients. This collaboration goes a long way towards achieving that.'
Professor Mike Ferguson, Dean of Research at the Universityof Dundee College of Life Sciences said, 'TPP is the ideal partner for this collaboration. Their experience in translation and commercialisation of early stage research complementsthe Dundee Drug Discovery Unit’stechnical expertise in early stage drug development and discovery. This collaboration will be of enormous value in taking forward the biomedical discoveries made across Scottish Universities and the wider global academic community.'
Professor Paul Wyatt, Head of the DDU, said 'Being involved in this collaboration is exciting for the DDU. The collaboration provides a mechanism whereby we can convert novel research into valuable new medicines of the future. Given the pressures imposed by the current tight funding environment we have simplified the application process for the Target Development Fund so that we can begin translational work as soon as possible.'
Mark Batho, chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: 'Dundee University is recognised as a world-leading institution in life science research and has been at the forefront of turning this research into products that are valuable both in terms of their impact and for the economy of Scotland. The Scottish Funding Council is therefore delighted to be supporting this new initiative which has the potential to offer significant benefits for the health of the nation and will also create jobs and help the economy.'
If you have a project that you would be interested in progressing within the Target Development Fund further information on how to apply is available at www.tppgd.com or contact Dr Barry McGuinness attargetdevelopmentfund@tppgd.com. The closing date for applications is 18 November 2011.
For more information/notes to editors
For more information please visit www.tppgd.com or contact:
TPP Global Development
Peter Trill, CFO
Ph: +44 (0)131 523 1427
Email: peter.trill@tppgd.com
College Hill Life Sciences
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Daniel Gooch
Ph: +44 (0)20 7866 7866
Email: tpp@collegehill.com
University of Dundee
Roddy Isles, Head, Press Office
Ph: +44 (0)1382 384910
Email: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
Notes to Editors:
TPP Global Development
TPP is a UK-based, biotech company focused on developing preclinical drug development programmes to a commercialization point at which they can be licensed to large pharmaceutical/biotech companies, or spun out into separate standalone operating companies. The intellectual property (IP) behind TPP’s programmes originates from a number of sources, including: universities, research institutes and industry as well as internally generated ideas. TPP seeks genuine partnerships with academic researchers throughout the UK, Europe, US and Asia in order to facilitate the successful translation of the most novel and exciting ideas into safe and effective drugs. TPP Global Development are advised by Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is internationally recognised for its excellence in life sciences and medical research with particular expertise in cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and skin diseases. The University has a top-rated medical school with research expanding from 'the cell to the clinic to the community', while the College of Life Sciences is home to some of the world's most cited scientists and more than 1000 research staff from 60 different countries.
The Drug Discovery Unit, University of Dundee
The University’s Drug Discovery Unit has the remit of developing translational research at Dundee and outside, by bringing together the Unit’s experience of drug discovery in the pharma/biotech sector with basic academic research to identify new treatments for diseases. It is the only fully operational and integrated drug discovery team within UK universities working across multiple disease areas,with the full range of disciplines required to produce novel hit and lead candidates.
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
MOBILE: 07800 581902 |
