CRT, MRCT to swap medical discoveries to advance translation of scientific research

Cancer Research UKJul 14 2010

'Skills Swap' to exploit expertise for patient benefit

Cancer Research Technology (CRT) and Medical Research Council Technology (MRCT) will 'swap' medical discoveries to accelerate the translation of early scientific research into patient benefit.

CRT and MRCT can offer each other rights to manage, develop and license discoveries from research funded by parent charity Cancer Research UK and the government's Medical Research Council. The arrangement will explore ways to make the most of each organisation's expertise and speed up the licensing of potential products for patient benefit.

CRT can offer MRCT the opportunity to manage, develop and license certain intellectual property outside the field of cancer. And in return MRCT can offer CRT the opportunity to manage, develop and license certain intellectual property with an application in cancer.

Dr Keith Blundy, CEO Cancer Research Technology said: "This is in effect a two-way skills transplant between two organisations with expertise in different areas of medical research.

"It's a win-win-win - for CRT, for MRCT and also for patients. CRT has a solid expertise in forming global networks with industry partners to turn cancer discoveries into exciting ways to treat cancer with aim to increase survival.

"In return the arrangement lets us hand over discoveries from our researchers that fall outside of cancer to the technology transfer leaders in specific disease research fields.

"Both organisations can contribute their skills and knowledge to bring the maximum patient benefit across a range of diseases as efficiently and quickly as possible."

Dave Tapolczay, CEO of MRC Technology, said: "The strengthening of this partnership is of strategic importance. The arrangement will allow both MRC Technology and Cancer Research Technology to use their core strengths to maximise translation of discovery to benefit public health. We are confident this arrangement will speed up delivery of life-changing healthcare treatments and bring further value and strength to UK science."

Both CRT and MRCT will share revenue resulting from the arrangement - agreed on a case by case basis.

Dr Keith Blundy, CEO Cancer Research Technology added: "As well as each organisation providing management commercialisation skills, each will use drug discovery expertise to translate drug targets into commercial opportunities

"This is an enormously important arrangement which will save both organisations and industry money and time and achieve our common goals of increasing survival from a wide range of diseases."