UK charity supports international technology transfer

Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the technology transfer arm of the charity Cancer Research UK – the world’s largest independent funder of research in the field – has developed unique skills in the commercialisation of new cancer therapies.

This is attracting academics from outside the UK to partner with CRT to translate their research into treatments.

A productive Anglo-US partnership

In May 2006 CRT set up an office in Boston, Massachusetts, and earlier this year announced its first US collaboration, with the Fox Chase Cancer Center of Philadelphia.

CRT scientists in London will work to validate novel small-molecule kinase inhibitors discovered at Fox Chase, optimising their potency and drug-like characteristics.

Francis Galvin, Assistant Director of Business Development at Fox Chase believes the relationship with CRT is essential to turning Fox’s compounds into drug leads.

“[CRT] has been excellent to work with and I encourage other US academic institutions to consider partnering with them,” he says.

We are oncology specialists and have a track record of commercialising early-stage academic research.

Keith Blundy

Chief executive officer

CRT

Links to Australian researchers

CRT has also announced it will collaborate with seven of Australia’s leading research institutions and two Australian companies in the formation of the Cooperative Research Centre for Cancer Therapeutics, to be based in Melbourne.

The centre will develop novel drug candidates for commercialisation.

Chairman of the centre, Professor Dick Fox, says, "The centre will benefit enormously from the experience and track record of CRT in developing and commercialising cancer therapies.

“Our goal is to use this experience to develop a sustainable development and commercialisation company.”

Global access to commercialisation

CRT and other UK technology-transfer experts have become partners of choice for academics elsewhere, including the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Auckland Division of the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

Keith Blundy, chief executive officer of CRT, says, “We provide global international access to commercialisation routes.

“We are oncology specialists and have a track record of commercialising early-stage academic research.”

The reason we can operate as we do is because of the quality of translational work carried out by CRT and other charitable funding bodies.

Glyn Edwards

Chief executive officer

Antisoma

De-risking projects for industry

CRT takes academic research to proof of concept in animal models, a point where much of the risk is removed and projects will be of interest to industry.

The reason we can operate as we do is because of the quality of translational work carried out by CRT and other charitable funding bodies. Glyn Edwards, chief executive officer of London-based Antisoma, which has built its drug portfolio through in-licensing from universities, says,

Translating research to market

To date, three of CRT’s partnered therapies are on the market, and over a dozen of its out-licensed products are in clinical trials, with more available for licensing.

CRT has also been involved in the formation of a number of start-up companies.

It is a long and costly path from academic research through to a marketed product, but CRT is making a vital contribution to this journey.