Almac And QUB In Cancer Research Partnership

A multi-million pound partnership into cancer treatment is to be carried out in Belfast in a partnership between Queen's University and Almac Discovery.

A total of £13m will be invested in two projects, with a further £7m offered by Invest Northern Ireland, which includes part funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

One of the ventures will involve the clinical performance of a cancer drug developed in the region.

It will carry out a Phase One clinical trial for ovarian cancer which will involve the first novel cancer drug fully developed in Northern Ireland. Involving up to 60 ovarian cancer patients, the drug being trialled has been created as a result of an earlier collaboration between Almac Discovery and Professor Tracy Robson from the School of Pharmacy at Queen's.

The second project will see a drug discovery unit established at Queen's Cancer Research and Cell Biology centre at Belfast City Hospital.

As a result of the joint programme, 17 scientists from Almac Discovery have been seconded to Queen's CCRCB in an industry led venture. The discovery team will work to identify parts of tumours which are susceptible to treatment by cancer drugs and to then develop the new drugs to target them.

The partnership will also enable new approaches to selecting those patients who will be most likely to respond to the new drugs, and to create the technologies needed to deliver the drugs directly to the tumour site in the patient.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, said: "This significant investment in research and development will enhance collaboration between academia and industry. This will ensure the investment is maximised, that research is effectively commercialised and that ultimately, enhanced treatment solutions are made available to cancer patients.

"The fact that Almac and Queen's are engaged in such ground-breaking research here in Northern Ireland is something that we should be extremely proud of. It will reinforce our position as a leader in research and development for the health and life sciences sector."

The new discovery programme is being led by Professor Tim Harrison, Vice President of Discovery Chemistry with Almac Discovery, and the newly-appointed McClay Chair of Medicinal Chemistry at Queen's for the next three years, said: "While Almac Discovery and Queen's have already been successfully collaborating for a number of years, this exciting new programme is bringing together for the first time, under one roof, some of our most talented scientists. As a result we expect to see an increase in both the breadth of drug targets we are able to identify and a subsequent increase in the development of potential therapeutics for patients."

(JP/CD)