The Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation

Monday 8th February, 2010 Dr. Marcel de Matas presents at inaugural meeting of Formulation Innovation Network Workshop

Dr. Marcel de Matas gave a presentation titled “Innovations in formulation science and technology” at the inaugural meeting of Formulation Innovation Network Workshop on 2nd February 2010.

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Monday 8th February, 2010 Science Bridges China platform launch at the Royal Society was an excellent success

The University of Bradford hosted the UK launch of its China Science Bridges programme on Tuesday 2 February at the Royal Society, London.

With £1.3m funding from Research Councils UK, the Science Bridges: Bradford-China Programme for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medical Technology programme focuses on collaborative research and development in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, bringing scientists and companies from the UK and China together to develop new therapies, medical diagnostics and devices.

The award acknowledges the strengths of the University of Bradford in managing strategic innovations with China, and provides a range of new opportunities for bridging East and West, from fundamental research to the establishment of promising new companies.

The Science Bridges awards provide funding for collaborations between British universities and institutions in China, India and the US and involve three of the University of Bradford’s leading research and knowledge transfer areas including, the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation, the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics and the Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Centre. It focuses on the development of products aligned with the planned priorities of both the Chinese and British governments in their respective health delivery plans and associated industries such as diabetes, infection control, traditional Chinese medicine and medical devices.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, Professor Phil Coates, at the University, said: “We are delighted to be unveiling this programme in the UK at the Royal Society.”

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Monday 1st February, 2010 Royal Society launch opportunities to bridge East and West

The University of Bradford will host the UK launch of its China Science Bridges programme on Tuesday 2 February at the Royal Society, London.

With £1.3m funding from Research Councils UK, the Science Bridges: Bradford-China Programme for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medical Technology programme focuses on collaborative research and development in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, bringing scientists and companies from the UK and China together to develop new therapies, medical diagnostics and devices.

The award acknowledges the strengths of the University of Bradford in managing strategic innovations with China, and provides a range of new opportunities for bridging East and West, from fundamental research to the establishment of promising new companies.

The Science Bridges awards provide funding for collaborations between British universities and institutions in China, India and the US and involve three of the University of Bradford’s leading research and knowledge transfer areas including, the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation, the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics and the Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Centre. It focuses on the development of products aligned with the planned priorities of both the Chinese and British governments in their respective health delivery plans and associated industries such as diabetes, infection control, traditional Chinese medicine and medical devices.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, Professor Phil Coates, at the University, said: “We are delighted to be unveiling this programme in the UK at the Royal Society.

“This programme provides us with the opportunity to accelerate the pace of innovation through combining scientific resources and talents across the UK and China. Through this programme we hope to be able to bring new therapies and healthcare technologies to market, forging stronger links between Eastern and Western approaches to medicine, and taking steps towards implementing new solutions to combat diseases such as cancer, diabetes and malaria”.

The programme aims to accelerate product invention, design and development by addressing three main activities. These include an ‘Open Innovation’ project scheme to develop prototypes and products, reciprocal training programmes and developing state-of-the-art knowledge and commercial networks.

This platform has led to further funding in China, including support for research programmes at our partner institutes (including Tsinghua, Shanghai IMM CAS for drug delivery projects, and Sichuan for a biomedical materials project), and to local government support, initially in Changzhou for open innovation programmes in China.

Guests attending the event include representatives from Research Councils UK, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Changzhou city along with leading companies and academics from China and the UK. Keynote speakers at the event include Head of International at Research Councils UK, Dr Sophie Laurie.

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Thursday 28th January, 2010 Yorkshire Forward announces innovation awards shortlist

Prof. Anant Paradkar’s team have been shortlisted for one of the upcoming Yorkshire Forward Innovator 2010 awards.

The Partners in Innovation Award, in association with the prestigious Lord Stafford Awards, which have rewarded knowledge transfer between businesses and universities in the Midlands since 1998, is aimed at celebrating and rewarding businesses which have collaborated with and used the region’s research community, resulting in the successful development of an innovation with the potential to deliver improved business performance and commercial success.

Finalists for the award are:

Nature’s Laboratory and the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation developed an innovative water soluble deodorised propolis (resin collected by bees and used by them as an immune defence mechanism), which has numerous therapeutic effects, including antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and anticancer. Propolis product development previously posed challenges becuase of its poor solubility.

Double Green Limited and The University of York, who developed the use of glycerine, a co-product from biodiesel production, in various applications, including th generation of biogas. The Research and Development work carried out at the University of York contributed to the characterisation of glycerin at different stages of production as well as the development of protocols for the synthesis of added value chemicals from glycerine.

Peratech Limited and the University of Leeds formed a partnership to produce printable electronic switches and sensors. The resulting Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) ink is a nanotech material which is extremely sensitive to pressure and is used in keyboards and keypads of mobile telephones to interpret the touches and gestures of the user. The ink can be applied during the normal keypad printing process and provides much more functionality than discrete pressure sensing components at a fraction of the cost.

This collaborative project was funded by METRC.

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