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The drug galantamine (Reminyl) received approval for the treatment of early stages of Alzheimer's disease in 2001. However it was not made available on the NHS until March 2011, the effective onset date for the impact. The decision as to whether a treatment is available on the NHS is made by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who sought additional clinical data and a rationale for the action of the drug. The mechanism of action was elucidated by Lancaster researchers that included chemists and biomedical scientists. These results were part of Alzheimer's Society's campaign to convince NICE to make the drug available on the NHS for early stage Alzheimer's. The resulting impact was direct, enhancing the quality of life for 100,000s of Alzheimer's patients (318,000 galantamine prescriptions were dispensed in the UK in 2012 [8]), with indirect impact on spouses, immediate family, and carers. The impact continues as new patients come into the pool.
Research by a team at Southampton into amyloid beta protein (A03b2) immunisation to treat Alzheimer's disease has been key to changing the way the global medical community understands and reacts to the disease. The first to observe that A03b2 immunisation clears A03b2 plaques, the team's studies were pivotal in initiating and informing the safe clinical trial development of 40 immunotherapy agents; investments of $3bn by the pharmaceutical industry; and 30 phase II and phase III studies. The research shaped US government policy on new safety measures for clinical trials and played a leading role in the doubling of UK funding to tackle Alzheimer's.
Pioneering research led by the University of Aberdeen has directly resulted in the development of an investigational medicinal product for the long-term management and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, breaking new ground in the search for effective Alzheimer's treatments. Although not yet commercially available, this drug has already benefited more than 100 patients and their families. A new spin-out company created to develop the drug has created new jobs and attracted more than US$335 million in investment since 2008. Extensive media coverage of the research has generated increased public awareness of the disease and Aberdeen's cutting-edge research and ability to raise investment. The claimed impact is therefore that a new spin-out company was formed; investments from and collaborations with industry in research and development were generated; and new employment created.
Femtocells provide short-range (e.g. 10m) wireless coverage which enables a conventional cellular communication system to be accessed indoors. Their widespread and growing use has been aided by the work in UoA11 by the University of Bedfordshire (UoB).
In 2008, while the femtocell concept was still in its infancy, researchers at UoB with expertise in wireless networks recognised that coverage prediction and interference reduction techniques would be essential if the benefits of that concept were to be realised.
Collaboration with two industrial partners (an international organisation and a regional SME) resulted in tools that enable operators to simulate typical femtocell deployment scenarios, such as urban, dense apartments, terraced house and small offices, before femtocells can be reliably deployed by users without affecting the rest of the network (a benefit of the technology). These tools have been deployed by those partners to support their businesses. A widely-cited textbook, written for network engineers, researchers and final year students, has brought knowledge of femtocell operation to a wider audience.
The UCL Centre for Amyloidosis and Acute Phase Proteins has designed and developed new chemical entities targeting serum amyloid P component (SAP), C-reactive protein (CRP) and transthyretin, for novel therapeutic approaches to amyloidosis, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. The UCL spin out company, Pentraxin Therapeutics Ltd, founded by Sir Mark Pepys to hold his intellectual property (IP), has licensed two programmes to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). These highly synergistic, collaborative multi-million pound developments, strikingly exemplify new working relationships between academia and the pharmaceutical industry.
A team at the University of Liverpool has undertaken research that has informed practice and policy worldwide in the management of patients presenting with newly diagnosed epilepsy, which has achieved international impact on health. Seizures are common and 3-5% of the population will be given a diagnosis of epilepsy during their lifetime. Decisions about when to start treatment, and if so with which drug are crucial and can have a significant effect on outcomes for the individual and have significant economic consequences for society. The research includes the undertaking and analysis of data from randomised controlled trials. The data analysis is based on the statistical research initiated by Dr Paula Williamson while in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Liverpool between 1996 and 2000. The research identified the most appropriate first line treatments for patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy, addressing both clinical and cost effectiveness. This work has underpinned national policy and triggered the most recent update of the NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) epilepsy guidelines in 2012.
3D scanning technology has enabled multiple opportunities for innovation in diverse areas such as manufacturing, design, and the arts. However, full utilisation of this technology requires not just the scanning hardware, but accompanying software that can build meaningful, editable models. This development has been pioneered by research conducted in the School of Computer Science and Informatics, at Cardiff University. Innovative algorithms for reverse engineering and digital shape reconstruction were devised that enabled the reconstruction of complex computer aided design (CAD) models from data captured by 3D scanners. The algorithms have been endorsed by Geomagic Inc, a market leading American software corporation (recently acquired by 3D Systems), that has subsidiaries in Europe and Asia and global distributors, and incorporated into their software product suite. This is accessed by nearly 10,000 licensed users worldwide, who have applied the product for industrial applications including aerospace and automotive engineering, product design, cultural heritage preservation, and healthcare. Accordingly, the impacts claimed are twofold: a) economic gain manifesting in the benefits to Geomagic and a plethora of end users who have utilised the software, b) impact on practitioners and professional services in diverse domains.
Platinum Group Elements (PGE) are critical strategic metals because of their unrivalled applications in catalysts, fuel cells and electronics and cancer therapies. Research and analytical methods developed at Cardiff have impacted on exploration for new PGE deposits, and more efficient processing of PGE ores by international mining companies. A key milestone between 2009 and 2012 was the discovery of a 3 billion year old giant impact crater in West Greenland. This discovery is of major economic significance because all craters previously found in this size class are associated with multi-billion dollar mineral and/or hydrocarbon resources. It led to an intellectual property transaction worth CDN$ 2.1 million and discovery of nickel and PGE deposits in Greenland by North American Nickel Incorporated.
BEAA research on high sugar grasses (HSG's) led to the breeding of HSG varieties that have had a significant impact on the contribution of grassland to livestock feeding across the UK. Their impact on the economy, commerce and the production of livestock products has been significant in the UK and increasingly in other countries. HSG varieties currently account for over 28% of the perennial ryegrass seed sales in the UK, with over 150,000 ha sown in the UK alone of these varieties since 2008, as their positive benefit on the economics of livestock production from grass and environmental benefit through reduced N pollution from livestock production is recognised.
Miltefosine is the first oral drug to be developed for the treatment of leishmaniasis, a worldwide parasitic infection with up to 12m cases. Also developed as a cancer drug, miltefosine was identified and tested for leishmaniasis therapy at LSHTM and has been added to WHO's essential medicines list as a result of subsequent clinical trials. It has been widely used for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and for the cutaneous form of the disease in Latin America. Phase III and IV clinical trials of combination therapies including miltefosine have been carried out in India.