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The zebra mussel is one of the world's most damaging invasive species, but existing control approaches cause significant environmental damage. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed the patented `BioBullet', which encapsulates a toxic active ingredient in a harmless edible coating, enabling efficient, targeted product delivery and dramatically reducing environmental pollution. [text removed for publication]
Biopta is a profitable, award-winning company spin-out from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU). Established in 2002, to deliver commercial products and services developed by university employees, it employs 19 staff across its Glasgow and Beltsville (Maryland USA) offices. It specialises in the provision of instruments and services monitoring drug effects in ethically donated, healthy and diseased human tissue, and counts eight of the top 10 major pharmaceutical companies as clients. To date, Biopta has provided early stage testing on more than 400 new drugs, designed to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma and irritable bowel syndrome, determining their efficacy and potential side effects.
Producers of dietary supplements have historically lacked scientific rigour when advertising the health benefits of their products. Researchers at Cardiff University have addressed this problem in relation to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). They identified a family of enzymes (aggrecanases) as key players in the onset of arthritis, knowledge subsequently used to identify a specific subset of omega-3-PUFAs with beneficial activity in a canine arthritis model. This led to novel patents and product development in both the pet food and human dietary supplement markets. These include the patented use of omega-3 PUFAs in Hills'® Prescription Diet® range and the development and marketing of Seven Seas' `JointCare' products.
King's College London (KCL), operating a state-of-the-art Drug Control Centre (DCC) in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), delivered the anti-doping analysis at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This operation, undertaken in their World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) accredited laboratories, was characterised by unprecedented scale, speed and accuracy. It succeeded in protecting the health of athletes and the integrity of the Games. KCL was chosen to undertake the 24/7 anti-doping operation based on its cutting-edge bio-analytical research in drug control. Although a number of athletes were disqualified in the pre-Games testing, the deterrent effect of the KCL work was evidenced by the few doping cases during the Games itself. Using the new biomarker test developed by the DCC at KCL in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southampton, the team identified for the first time the administration of recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) in two athletes. The findings of the KCL-led operation are already being used to develop similar testing facilities for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and have opened up the science of drug-testing to schools through the "Scientists in Sport" initiative.
The multi-million pound skincare industry has benefitted greatly from research carried out since 2009 at Reading, demonstrating for the first time that an ingredient in some anti-ageing face creams can genuinely increase the amount of collagen produced by skin cells, thereby removing the appearance of wrinkles. The research investigated the nanostructure of the lipopeptide known as Matrixyl and how changes to its environment and composition affect its structure and activity. These findings received widespread media coverage in the UK and abroad, leading to noticeable increases in sales of Matrixyl-containing products by Procter and Gamble and enhancing the business of the UK-based SME Forme Laboratories, who have developed a new line of effective skincare products for menopausal women, based on the Reading results.
Research at the University of Sheffield developed pharmacokinetic tools that enable prediction of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, and potential drug-drug interactions. In 2001 the University created a spinout company, Simcyp Ltd, to commercialise the technology. The impacts are:
The spin-out company, Degrasense, has developed and protected intellectual property of technology capable of quantifying specific proteolytic enzymes through changes in electrochemical responses (impedance) at electrodes due to the enzymatic degradation of polymer coatings. The company has detected several specific proteases that are relevant to the monitoring and treatment of a number of conditions including: periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis, haemophilia and hypertension. The technology is currently being validated in a clinical trial as a point of care sensor for the detection of active periodontal disease. Point-of-care sensors provide immediate, low-cost test results in non-laboratory settings, offering a more patient-centred approach to healthcare and earlier detection of disease.
Impact: Economic. The EaStCHEM spin-out company Deliverics has commercialised biodegradable transfection reagents for both the "research tool" and the "RNAi therapeutics" markets (globally valued at £400M and £4 billion respectively). Beneficiaries are the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, and clinicians. The turnover since 2010/11 is £330k and the company currently has five employees.
Significance: Deliveric's agents out-perfom existing materials in term of efficacy and reduced levels of toxicity. They are not hampered by the immunogenicity, manufacturing issues, and carcinogenicity previously seen for viral vectors used as delivery agents. This presents a wide ranging ability to deliver nucleic acids into cells and tissues for biological applications.
Research; date; attribution: EaStCHEM research (2008) led by Bradley reported a family of non-viral DNA delivery agents that offered a highly-efficient and non-toxic method of delivering siRNA/DNA into mammalian cells and tissues. Development and patenting of this technology led to the spin-out of Deliverics Ltd. in 2010.
Reach: International customer base (20 research groups and 10 companies) including specially appointed distributors in Spain (Albyn Medical), South Korea (CoreSciences), and US (Galen).
Neurons in the central nervous system do not normally regenerate following injury, due in part to the presence of `inhibitory' molecules that actively prevent the growth and/or collateral sprouting of axons. King's College London scientists identified myelin associated glycoprotein (MAG) as the first myelin inhibitory molecule and demonstrated that inhibition of MAG function with a monoclonal antibody promotes axonal regeneration. They have gone on to promote MAG and its receptor (called the NgR1) as druggable therapeutic targets. Their discovery has led the UK's largest pharmaceutical company — GlaxoSmithKline — to develop monoclonal antibodies to MAG and a second myelin inhibitor as clinical drug candidates. The anti-MAG therapeutic successfully completed Phase I and II clinical trials in humans for stroke during 2008-2013.
The European Union Cosmetics Directive (adopted in 2003) banned the use of animals for testing cosmetic ingredients and the final deadline for compliance was March 2013. The development of alternative methods of safety assessment was therefore essential to ensure both consumer protection and viability of the cosmetics industry. Our research has focussed on the development of computational alternatives to animal testing, including the identification of structural alerts that have been encoded into computational workflows to support toxicity prediction. These methods have delivered tools to the cosmetics industry in Europe and worldwide to enable them to comply with the directive and develop new products. Our findings have also been used to inform thinking and policy in Europe and to develop a new approach to the safety assessment of cosmetics.