Roche makes Manchester connection
pharmafile | March 12, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Manchester, NHS, Roche, ahsc, mahsc
Roche has signed a deal with a research group in the north-west of England to develop ideas which it hopes may lead to the creation of new diagnostics and improved access to treatments.
The Swiss pharma group is to link up with the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) – a partnership between the University of Manchester and six NHS Trusts: including Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Salford Clinical Commissioning Group.
MAHSC works across cancer, cardiovascular, human development, inflammation & repair, mental health and population health – and it is in some of these areas that the work on biomarkers will focus.
Such pharma/academia tie-ups are becoming more common as companies seek to unlock skills and patient populations to which they might otherwise not have access: it is the first between Roche and an AHSC.
The new alliance also includes parts of the Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network (GM AHSN) and the NIHR Greater Manchester Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN).
The parties say supporting the training of the next generation of researchers and clinicians, improving access to new medicines and encouraging wider participation in clinical trials are among the other key aims of the agreement.
“To improve patient care it’s essential to increase our understanding of the role of innovative molecules in the real world, and how new medicines might impact patient pathways and the wider healthcare system,” said Christopher Burdette, head of project strategy and portfolio management at Roche Products.
He paid tribute to the strength of Manchester’s research community and the ‘scientific potential’ of the UK as a whole. The manufacturer knows that such relationships may also help find new uses for its existing brands.
Dr Linda Magee, business development director at MAHSC, said that Roche would benefit from “the skills of our leading clinicians and researchers” and a population of 3.6 million.
This would allow the pharma group to develop and test new diagnostic tools and drugs “in a streamlined and effective way”, while offering MAHSC the chance to access Roche’s expertise.
In turn, the medical community would get more hands-on research experience and greater proximity to the latest research studies.
Adam Hill
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