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Bio-Buzz
No.09 / September 2008
IN THIS ISSUE
HEADLINE NEWS
INDUSTRY CORNER
EDITORIAL
EVENTS LISTINGS
BioApproaches SW is relocating!
From the 1st of October 2008 BioApproaches SW will be located at:
the INNOVATION centre ,
Carpenter House,
First Floor,
Broad Quay,
Bath,
BA1 1UB.
The new telephone number will be:
Jade Fulbrook-Smith: 01225 388739
Dr Pauline Lee: 01225 388742
Email, website and mobile telephone numbers will be unchanged
Events News
We are pleased to report that the recent event entitled Small Scale Biomanufacturing - clinical trials, cell & gene therapies which BioApproaches hosted at Clifton Pavilion, Bristol Zoo Gardens on the 18 Sept 2008 was very successful. The press release from the event can be found HERE and full video coverage of the event will be available on our website soon.
Events for the diary
“Generating commercial opportunities in the Environment and Human Health sector in the South West Peninsula”
On 31 October 2008, at The Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske, Truro TR1 3HD Tel: 01872 256400
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and its Peninsula Forum partners will be holding a Peninsula Environment and Human Health workshop on the 31 October 2008, from 11.00am till 4.00pm at the Richard Farrow Lecture Theatre, The Knowledge Spa Truro.
The main objectives of the meeting are:
- To generate networking opportunities
- To explore commercial opportunities through fostering interactions between academics/practitioners/and business community, (consultancies, pharmaceutical companies, toxicity testing companies, manufacturers, healthcare and insurance companies, etc)
It is expected that this will be the first of a series of meetings.
For more information click HERE and to register, contact Jade Fulbrook-Smith at BioApproaches email: jade@bioapproaches.co.uk or Telephone: 07715 856262
2nd Coast to Coast Medicinal and Synthetic Chemistry Conference, September 2008, Torquay
This meeting, sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry, will be held from the 26-28 September at the Riviera Conference Centre, Torquay. It will bring an impressive collection of academic and industrial speakers to the South Coast. For more information click HERE or email Stuart Cameron from Bude-based Exelgen.
Profit from new Markets
Profit from New Markets, December 2008, Bath
This is a one day event of networking and one-to-one partnering for Europe and Asia Pacific and will be held on Tuesday 2 December 2008 at Bailbrook House, Bath.
The event is your opportunity to:
- Find out how the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) can help you access new markets
- Meet representatives of EEN to discuss your business needs
- Meet visiting UK Trade & Investment representatives from China, India, Singapore, Malaysia & Japan
- Find out about support for biotech, medtech and life science events and missions
To register your interest and for more information please click HERE or tel: 01275 370813
INDUSRTY CORNER
Do you offer contract R&D, contract manufacturing or contract clinical facilities and services in the South West?
The January 2009 edition of BioBuzz will be dedicated to these important areas of the South West biotechnology and life science sectors.
If you wish to have your facilities or services listed free of charge in BioBuzz in January please contact us. BioBuzz has a current circulation of approx 2,000 readers across the UK.
For a pro forma and more information please contact info@bioapproaches.co.uk or telephone 01225 388739.
Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI)
The Technology Strategy Board has launched a reformed SBRI programme designed to help early stage, high technology small businesses gain greater access to Research and Development opportunities. The new SBRI is a procurement programme through which Government Departments buy research and development services, helping to bring new technologies to market and leading to the possibility of future commercial procurement in the public sector.
The programme is aimed at businesses working on the development of an innovative process, material, device, product or service. It is open to all businesses but is particularly beneficial to SMEs.
Developments will be 100% funded and will be targeted at specific identified needs in each Department, increasing the chance of exploitation. Suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the IPR generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the contracting Department.
The Technology Strategy Board is launching pilot competitions for the new SBRI, operating in two phases. Phase 1 projects are to demonstrate technical feasibility; contracts are limited to a maximum of £100k and 6 months. After Phase 1 each project will be evaluated, and successful ones will be eligible to enter a competition for Phase 2, to develop and demonstrate the technology, including prototypes and trials in a realistic operational environment. Phase 2 contracts are limited to a maximum of £1m and 2 years. Successful completion of Phase 2 may lead to individual arrangements for commercialisation and product procurement (outside SBRI and according to Departments' needs).
Successful businesses will be those whose technology addresses specific needs identified in the competitions, and could make a measurable improvement to what is currently being procured by the target government department. SBRI projects are intended to achieve major milestones on the route to commercialisation, including prototyping and demonstration, and to be particularly helpful to early stage companies.
The first pilot competition, with the MOD, is now open, and further details of the Health pilot will be available soon.
For more information please visit the Technology Strategy Board website. General enquiries about the SBRI programme can be directed by e-mail HERE
Call open for industrially relevant, innovative, basic biological research in biorefining technologies
The BBSRC has launched a Research and Technology Club in partnership with industry* and the Bioscience for Business Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). The Club will interface with the KTN’s wider Integrated Biorefinery Technologies Initiative (IBTI) and will invest around £5M (BBSRC £4M, Industry £730K) in industrially relevant, innovative, basic biological research in biorefining technologies. The areas of the call are: Optimising Feedstock Composition; Integrative Bioprocessing and Enhancing Product Value.
The deadline for outline applications is 15 October 2008. UK Higher Education Institutions, Independent Research Organisations and BBSRC-sponsored institutes are eligible to apply. For more information click HERE
Supplementary Protection Certificates – information blog launched
This online resource enables those interested in patent issues and SPCs to contribute to discussion and find out information. Through the site you can a so register for email updates on SPC news. For more information click HERE
New Jersey Technology Council conducts survey
The New Jersey Technology Council in the US is conducting its annual Life Sciences Industry Forecast Survey to gauge the current climate of the Life Sciences industry network in the mid - Atlantic region of the US and in several other regions and countries. They are looking for Life Science Executives to complete a short survey HERE by the 15 October 2008.
This survey will compare and contrast the results between companies in the US, the rest of the EU, Korea, India, Israel and Canada. Kean University and the University of Quebec are also involved.
BioMarkers and Diagnostics videoconference with New Jersey
On 22 October there is an opportunity to take part in a video conference with the New Jersey to discuss biomarkers and diagnostics with New Jersey Research Institutes. For more information about this interesting opportunity contact Richard Luxton HERE at the University of the West of England.
Queens Award for Enterprise 2009….opportunity to enter
The Queen’s Awards are highly sought-after and provide tangible benefits for companies who receive one. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is recognised in the UK and overseas and is respected as a mark of quality and success by the business community.
Companies may apply for the business Award in one, two or all of the three categories: International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development. There is nothing to lose by applying and much to gain.
The competition is free to enter and the application process is straight-forward. To find out more HERE The deadline for entries is 31 October 2008.
BIA Annual Bioscience Forum 2008
The BIA Annual Bioscience Forum was held in London on the 25 Sept. The topics included Business Development, IP hot topics, Talent Management and Research and Development. The keynote talks will be available through BIA TV and for more information about the event or the BIA click HERE
EDITORIAL
The Wellcome Trust funds innovation in the South-West
Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust is a committed funder of translational research – the process by which innovations are translated into new health products. Helping to bridge the gap between fundamental research and commercial application, it supports both academic researchers and companies by funding applied research and development projects to a stage where they are attractive to a follow-on funder.
Through its Translation Awards, Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust is currently funding several innovations in the South-west. For example, Professor Anthony Hollander from the University of Bristol has received a Translation Award to develop a stem-cell therapy to treat torn meniscus.
There are approximately one million injuries per year to the meniscal cartilage in the knee. It causes severe pain and discomfort and can prevent the sufferer from engaging in sporting activities. Around 90 per cent of these injuries are in the inner, avascular white zone for which there is currently no effective long-term therapy. The only available treatment for the majority of such tears is to remove the damaged tissue (partial menisectomy). This will relieve the patient of pain and inflammation but carries a high risk of osteoarthritis developing in the treated knee. Therefore, there is a clear need for a new meniscal cartilage therapy that preserves tissue.
The University of Bristol’s 'cell bandage' therapy will include delivery of the patient’s own bone-marrow-derived stem cells into the damaged tissue using a biomembrane. The Translation Award enables Professor Hollander to undertake all the preliminary work necessary in order to progress to a clinical trial within two to three years. The therapy will be developed by a University of Bristol spin-out company, Azellon cell therapeutics.
This therapy carries great promise for healing the body by using the patient’s own cells as the raw material. Using the cell bandage, meniscal tears may heal without the removal of original tissue and without the need for artificial implants.
Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust is currently inviting preliminary applications for Translation Awards, which are open to researchers from both academic institutions and early-stage companies. Projects that cover any aspect of technology development from a range of disciplines – including physical, computational and life sciences – will be considered.
Projects must address an unmet need in healthcare or in applied medical research, offer a potential new solution and have a realistic expectation that the innovation will be developed further by the market. Funding areas include diagnostics, enabling technology, regenerative medicine, therapeutics, vaccines and medical devices.
Deadline for preliminary applications: 17 November 2008
For further information about how to apply and for further examples of past funding, contact
Technology Transfer
T +44 (0)20 7611 8202
E techtransfer@wellcome.ac.uk
www.wellcome.ac.uk/techtransfer/biobuzz
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.
EVENTS LISTINGS
Covering Lifesciences (biotechnology) and Medical interests can be found HERE
Contact Us
For further information on any of these items, please visit our website:
www.bioapproaches.co.uk or contact us directly.
Jade Fulbrook-Smith – Project Coordinator, BioBuzz Editor
Tel: 07715 856262 Email: Jade@BioApproaches.co.uk
Dr Pauline Lee – Network Manager
Tel: 07710 779548 Email: pauline@BioApproaches.co.uk
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