SciLifeLab Innovations – Pharma & Biotech, paves the way for enhanced collaboration in drug discovery
SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development (DDD) platform has completed the VINNOVA-funded project, “Innovative academic drug discovery – InnoPharma”. This three-year project aimed to improve the support within drug discovery provided by SciLifeLab in cooperation with other national research infrastructures and innovation stakeholders. As a result of the project, researchers can now move from a two-part collaboration between the academic scientist and the national research infrastructure SciLifeLab DDD to a joint three-part collaboration that also involves an innovation agency. The Innopharma project, which ended in the summer of 2023, has significantly strengthened the support to researchers striving to take their academic result towards the patients. SciLifeLab DDD platform will continue to facilitate the three part collaboration under the umbrella SciLifeLab Innovations – Pharma & Biotech.
By fostering closer collaboration between SciLifeLab and innovation stakeholders, the project has identified and addressed a number of bottlenecks in the drug discovery and innovation processes for university scientists and significantly increased their readiness as they make their transition from academic research to preclinical development in the private sector. Already now, academic drug discovery endeavors accepted to the DDD platform program have resulted in 10 start-up companies, (out of which 3 are listed on Nasdaq), licensing of 4 projects to international pharma, and four projects that have entered clinical trials. The belief is that this wider collaboration will strengthen the existing invaluable connections between academia and industry, nurturing an environment of innovation and support continued growth within the life sciences sector.
“We are pleased to see how the efforts of this project have supported interactions between research scientists, drug discovery experts and innovation stakeholders. This project has not only enhanced our understanding of how to perform academic drug discovery but it has also laid the foundation for stronger collaborative ties between different functions of the Pharma-Biotech Innovations network and academic research. The default option is that the academic innovation support system act as the innovation agency in this joint three-part collaboration, although alternative solutions could be considered. The academic scientist is in the driver’s seat. The joint three-part collaboration could be exemplified by the project led by Marika Nestor (Uppsala University) who’s project got additional support from the InnoPharma project before leaving DDD (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdwSXv_Tplg). With the successful completion of the InnoPharma project we are ready and excited to further contribute to a vibrant ecosystem driving impactful advancements in drug discovery”, says Kristian Sandberg, Director of the SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development platform.
To facilitate translation of academic science to patients, SciLifeLab DDD is now spearheading a closer network of co-operations and collaborations for innovations within pharma-biotech spun out from Swedish universities. SciLifeLab DDD and representatives from other innovation stakeholders in Sweden aim to continue in this spirit of cooperative efforts and knowledge exchange beyond completion of the project. The network strengthened and expanded by the InnoPharma project and will serve as a platform for support, mentorship, technology development and the sharing of best practice between university researchers, academic innovation stakeholders and industry professionals.
”As we celebrate the accomplishments of the project, we look forward to the exciting opportunities and breakthroughs that lie ahead in the realm of drug discovery. These collaborations and interactions stand ready to empower researchers, catalyze innovations and drive transformative discoveries in the field”, says Per Arvidsson, Platform Director, SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development platform.
About the SciLifeLab Drug Discovery and Development platform:
Drug Discovery and Development (DDD) is a national research infrastructure embedded within SciLifeLab. The mission for DDD is to support academic scientists working under the Swedish teacher’s exemption law to discover novel prototype drugs and to provide cutting edge drug discovery technologies to Swedish life science. Since the start 2014, DDD operations has contributed with 10 biotech startups, whereof 3 are listed on Nasdaq, licensing of 4 projects to international pharma, and 4 projects that have entered clinical trials.
About the Academic Innovation Support System:
The Academic Innovation Support System consists of university innovation offices, incubators and holding companies. These support systems show regional differences but the ambition is always the same – to increase the chances of discoveries from academic research reaching patients.
About the “Innovative academic drug discovery – InnoPharma” project:
InnoPharma was a Vinnova-funded project coordinated by the Drug Discovery and Development platform at SciLifeLab which ended in the summer of 2023. The primary aim of the project was to improve the process to evaluate and validate academic drug discovery projects.
Additional information: SciLifeLab Innovations – Pharma & Biotech (https://www.scilifelab.se/external-relations/scilifelab-innovation-pharma-biotech/).
Contact:
Kristian Sandberg, kristian.sandberg@scilifelab.uu.se, phone: +46730372004
