UCL to coordinate £16m project to crack difficult disease areas

UCL has successfully coordinated a £16 million bid to work with the Medical Research Council (MRC), GSK and four other universities to improve scientists' understanding of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases that present a serious burden to patients. The Experimental Medicine Initiative to Explore New Therapies (EMINENT) network will bring together teams of researchers from UCL, the Universities of Cambridge, Glasgow, Newcastle and Imperial College London, with GSK researchers to study the fundamental biological mechanisms responsible for a range of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. It is hoped that combining the disease biology expertise of the academic scientists with GSK's drug development expertise and resources will lead to breakthroughs in understanding that could accelerate the development of innovative treatments for patients. The bid was drafted and led by Professor Rachel Chambers, Vice-Dean (Enterprise) for the UCL Faculty of Medical Sciences and Director of the Centre for Inflammation and Tissue Repair. Professor David Lomas, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Medical Sciences, said: "By bringing together world-leading researchers from across academia and industry, this programme will rapidly accelerate the development of new medicines. Professor Rachel Chambers prepared a strong bid to make this happen, which will now enable academics to work with industry for the ultimate benefit of patients. Researchers in the partnership will have access to GSK's advanced drug development equipment and know-how, sharing clinical and scientific expertise to create a truly open and collaborative partnership." - By bringing together world-leading researchers from across academia and industry, this programme will rapidly accelerate the development of new medicines.