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Galantamine (Reminyl®) is one of the drugs recommended by NICE for treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Until recently, it was approved only for the moderate stage of AD. In 2011, NICE guidance was changed to recommend that this drug could also be prescribed for early-stage AD. This has had a major impact on the lives of AD sufferers. In published research arising from an Alzheimer's Society Project Grant, Prof. Allsop at Lancaster demonstrated that Galantamine inhibits Aβ aggregation and so should be prescribed as early as possible during the course of AD due to its potential disease-modifying properties. This research underpinned arguments made by the Alzheimer's Society who were one of the key players in pressing for the change in NICE recommendations.
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.
Our research has had a major impact on the way pharmaceutical trials in Alzheimer's disease are conducted. The Boundary Shift Integral technique, which we developed and validated, has changed commercial practice and has become the industry standard for measuring atrophy progression. Our methods have largely replaced previous manual measures and in 2008-13 were used in over 20 large international trials. This had significant economic benefits for several companies providing image analysis services. For UCL alone they generated over £5m of industrial contracts. Additionally, through licensing and collaboration, UCL's research contributed to IXICO establishing a significant market share in this important commercial area.
Research carried out by Professor David Smith of the University of Oxford established that B vitamins could slow the rate of Alzheimer-related brain atrophy and cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early stage of Alzheimer's disease which is common in the elderly. Since 2008 the impact on sales and marketing of B vitamins worldwide has been significant; [text removed for publication], and over-the-counter and prescription B vitamin products marketed as helping to maintain memory function have achieved sales worth many millions of US dollars. Some doctors now prescribe B vitamins for the group of MCI patients identified by Smith as being most at risk.
John Williams and colleagues found that serum homocysteine predicted cognitive decline and predicted the potential for vitamin B12 in treatment of dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease. This finding has led to the production of 2 novel cobalamin compounds, glutathionyl cobalamin (GSCbl) and N-acetyl cysteinyl cobalamin (NACCbl), in collaboration with Kent State University (USA), the use of which were patented in USA. We have also identified a novel anti-oxidant activity of vitamin B12. This work has led to the production of Betrinac sold by the Chester company, Cobalz Ltd, in the UK and PamLab Llc, USA.
A Cardiff researcher has led an International 15 year programme resulting in multiple novel findings which have led to changes in the recommended diagnosis and treatment of acquired haemophilia A (AHA). The research has, for the first time, allowed the comparison of immunosuppressive regimens for inhibitor eradication and comparison of the efficacy of treatment strategies to control bleeds. Studies led directly to the production of UK and International guidelines on the management of AHA with 14 of the 18 specific recommendations in the UK guideline being underpinned by Cardiff-led research.
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.
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.
LJMU's Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology actively engages with broadcasters and the creative sector, providing a significant evidence base and impacting the commissioning and content of television programming about human evolution. LJMU research is at the forefront of this activity, underpinning programmes that are an excellent vehicle to promote the public understanding of human evolution, which in turn promotes public engagement with science more generally. Television production companies and broadcasters approach LJMU to provide high-quality scientific input which drives decisions about and ultimately produces up-to-date factual programming that attracts, engages and educates large and diverse viewing audiences in the UK and worldwide.
Sumbayev and colleagues have shown that gold nanoparticles represent an excellent platform for the specific delivery of drugs, targeting the HIF-1 biochemical pathway as a novel therapeutic target for diseases such as allergy, leukaemia and other autoimmune disorders. Two international, non-academic institutions have altered the direction of their work as a result of this research and two SMEs have revised their operational procedures and invested in the applied research that derives from this work.