The projects will focus on a variety of research areas, including Down Syndrome and ALS.
The Francis Crick Institute has announced six new partnerships with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC), focusing on innovative discovery projects led by Crick researchers.
The collaboration is supported by an MRC Business Engagement Fund award as part of UK Research Innovation and will focus on the application of novel cutting-edge technologies across a diverse range of research to deliver impactful outcomes.
Paul Mercer, Head of Collaborations at the Crick Institute, commented: “We are excited to be building research partnerships with SMEs to diversify opportunities for the development of Crick Institute discoveries through the application of disruptive innovation.”
Partners include Perha Pharmaceuticals, Scalable Minds, Broken String Biosciences, Hertility Health, Automata Technologies and Mytos.
Projects will focus on a variety of research topics, including pharmacological treatments for congenital heart disease in Down syndrome, advancing research into human ovarian support cells and fertility, the impact of genomic instability in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), automated, highly sensitive genetic assays for screening for CRISPR modifications, and studying iPSC-derived human neurons to predict druggable pathways.
Laura Dickens, MRC’s associate director of industry partnerships, said: “Strengthening and expanding our engagement with industry, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, is a strategic priority for the MRC.
“We look forward to seeing the funded partnerships develop and the exciting scientific impact they can achieve together.”
This May, Click Partnered In collaboration with Broken String, we will advance our understanding of genomic instability in the pathogenesis of ALS.
The aim of this research project is to develop novel applications of Broken String’s proprietary DNA break mapping platform, INDUCE-seq.
Recently, M.R.C. Partnered We have partnered with AstraZeneca (AZ) to provide six MRC Clinical Fellows with industry training opportunities in clinical research as part of AZ’s biopharmaceutical research and development business, supporting new medicines development whilst delivering long-term benefits to the UK clinical trials and research environment.
