Those working in research-active universities around the UK that have been affected by the pandemic can now take advantage of two major new support packages to help them take their own steps towards making efficiencies and protecting research bases.
Universities will also be able to access long-term low-interest loans, supplemented by government grants, to cover up to 80 per cent of losses in income caused by any actual fall in international students.
And support is now available to fund research and high priority packages such as medical research to help universities continue to be at the forefront of innovation.
Approximately £200 million in new investment is to be made available immediately to help support salaries and costs including laboratory equipment and fieldwork. This should mean that universities are about to retain research talent and protect projects around the country.
Some of the projects benefiting from this investment already include research into antibiotics resistance, the development of new technologies to tackle climate change, solutions tackling the waste caused by plastics manufacturing and usage, and work looking into the effect of the pandemic on wider society.
Business secretary Alok Sharma said: “The brilliance of our talented researchers and scientists has been absolutely critical not only to our medical response to coronavirus but also as we begin to emerge from this pandemic and support the UK’s economic recovery.
“The support we are putting in place will give our world-leading universities a lifeline by protecting jobs to ensure our best minds can continue discovering new innovations that will benefit us all for generations to come.”
Researchers are currently working on finding a vaccine for coronavirus – and a team at Imperial College London has just launched human trials of one potential vaccine candidate, with over £41 million in funding from the government and an additional £5 million in philanthropic donations.
This is the first test of a new self-amplifying RNA technology, which could revolutionise the development of vaccines and enable scientists to improve responses to emerging diseases.
The study will see 300 healthy participants given two doses of the vaccine and, if it proves to be safe and shows promising human immune responses, Phase III trials can then begin later in the year, with approximately 6,000 volunteers testing the vaccine.
Professor Robin Shattock from the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial explained that new technologies mean researchers can move with “unprecedented speed” on potential vaccines and in just a few months, the team has been able to come up with a candidate, something that has never been done before with this kind of vaccine.
He went on to say that if this approach is successful and the vaccine is effective, it could change responses to disease outbreaks in the future.
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Epidarex Capital, the US-based international finance firm, has launched a £102m fund in Edinburgh for investment into the emerging life sciences sector.
According to The Scotsman, the UK Government has committed £50m through the British Business Bank, with the rest coming from the Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow and Aberdeen, Strathclyde Pension Fund and several global investors.
It says it will aim to help university spinouts and other young life science companies grow by making initial investments of £2-£5 million.
Epidarex, which is based in Maryland, is a transatlantic venture firm that creates and invests in early-stage, high-potential life science companies in emerging research hubs. It partners at an early stage with top scientists and entrepreneurs in the UK and the US to develop products addressing major needs in the global healthcare market.
Epidarex managing partner Sinclair Dunlop said: “We are grateful for the tremendous support from the British Business Bank and from returning investors, which has allowed us to close this significant new UK fund.
“Epidarex’s differentiated approach to life science investing draws from our global network of experts and long-standing relationships with multiple highly regarded universities and research institutions.
“Epidarex can now significantly expand and support its portfolio of UK life science start-ups with the potential to both transform patient outcomes and generate competitive investor returns.”
The new fund has helped Lunac Therapeutics with a £2.65m investment which will allow them to grow from a University of Leeds spin-out to commercialise next-generation anticoagulants that minimise bleeding risk. Epidarex has said they will further investments in the next few months.
The British Business Bank funding comes from its Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme which combines private and public money to provide early-stage venture capital.
Nadhim Zahawi, UK Minister for Business and Industry, said: “It is our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and that means backing innovation as we rebuild and revitalise the UK economy.
“The UK is already home to one of the strongest, most productive health and life science industries globally and today’s £50m government investment will help to ensure this crucial sector continues to thrive, transforming people’s lives.”
Steve Bates, chief executive of the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA), said: “Accessing world-class life science venture expertise is key to creating and scaling successful innovative UK life science companies.
“This has been a BIA policy objective for many years, so it’s fantastic to see UK life science industrial strategy in action – further enabling Epidarex to back some of Britain’s most promising life science entrepreneurs.
“Having transatlantic expertise and a base in Edinburgh gives Epidarex real insight in building new UK life science companies, including beyond the south-east of England – an area that has traditionally been under ventured despite the presence of world-leading research and innovation.”
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Scientists in the UK have announced a breakthrough in treating the coronavirus after a cheap steroid has been found to reduce deaths.
The BBC reports that dexamethasone has reduced the mortality rate by a third in the most severe cases where a patient needed to be placed on a ventilator. Previously, the mortality rate for those on a ventilator is above 40 per cent. It also reduced deaths by a fifth for patients needing oxygen.
Over 11,500 patients from 175 NHS hospitals have been enrolled on the Recovery trial since it began in March to test a range of potential COVID-19 treatments. In the dexamethasone study, 2,104 patients received 6mg of dexamethasone once a day by mouth or intravenous injection for 10 days, and the outcome was compared with a control group of 4,321 patients.
Over a 28-day period, the mortality rate among patients requiring ventilation was 41 per cent, and for those needing oxygen, it was 25 per cent. For those not requiring respiratory intervention, the figure was 13 per cent. There was no change in deaths among patients who did not require respiratory support.
The Recovery trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY) was co-ordinated by scientists from the University of Oxford.
Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the university’s Nuffield Department of Medicine, and one of the chief investigators for the trial described it as “an extremely welcome result”.
“This is the only drug that has so far shown to reduce mortality, and it reduces it significantly. It is a major breakthrough, I think,” he said. “Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.”
The teams are working to publish the full results of the study as soon as possible.
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The Oxford-Cambridge life sciences arc already contributes a significant amount to the UK’s economy. Research from Bidwells shows that, in 2019, it’s estimated the arc contributed £111 billion to the country’s GDP.
However, there is potential for significant growth in the life sciences sector in this region of the country, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organisation’s research predicted that the Oxford-Cambridge arc has the potential to contribute nearly 11 per cent of the UK’s Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2050, which would be a marked increase over the six per cent in GVA it currently produces.
A lack of suitable lab and office space has been identified as one of the factors that has slowed growth within life science organisations in recent years, as well as lower levels of investment due to the uncertainty caused by Brexit.
But the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of both the research that’s undertaken and this hub both within the UK and on a global scale. As a result, the report suggested that there needs to be “a strategic approach to transport infrastructure, housing and education across the arc as a whole”.
It also noted that one of the reasons why so many R&D firms have chosen to base themselves in the region has been recruitment, with two-thirds of such companies citing the ease of recruiting and retaining staff as one of the main considerations when deciding where to be located.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted the need for greater collaboration between organisations. In April, the UK rolled out the world’s biggest trial of possible Covid-19 treatments, with 132 hospitals across the country recruiting more than 1,000 patients to participate in the trial.
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The next generation of young professionals, including those who are registered with science graduate recruitment agencies, will be the ones to help the UK economy recover.
Over the last few months, the country’s financial situation has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, as many businesses have been forced to close down to keep their staff safe.
As a result, leading economic forecaster from EY Item Club Mark Gregory predicted the UK economy will shrink by as much as much as eight per cent in 2020.
Speaking with the Guardian, he anticipated the damage caused by the crisis could last until 2023, saying: “This is an undoubtedly challenging environment for businesses and forecasting is extremely difficult.”
The news provider reported the economy shrank by 20.4 per cent in April, suggesting it could result in the worst recession the country has experienced in more than 300 years.
Therefore, employers need to kickstart their recruitment process to get industries back on track as soon as possible.
Consequently, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has written to the Prime Minister to suggest ways to focus its recovery plans, including prioritising young workers.
CBI director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn suggested focusing on creating new jobs and providing training and learning opportunities.
She stated: “A world class test and trace system is the foundation for a UK that is safe to visit, invest in, work and study in. Two other priorities also stand out: jobs, especially for young people, and investment.”
The CBI also recommended investing in green infrastructure to encourage a more sustainable future, and kickstarting consumer demand to improve UK competitiveness.
Dame Fairbairn stated: “Without immediate intervention, pre-crisis inequalities across regions, gender and race will worsen. Long-term unemployment will leave generational scars. And business investment will need to bounce back fast to create the jobs of the future.”
She went on to say: “Time is of the essence. Smart, fast policy is needed now to accelerate the process to minimise the human cost and, in particular, protect the futures of our young people.”
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) also called for the government to protect young people’s careers, saying those aged 25 or under are most at risk of losing their jobs.
It found that job vacancies have dropped by 25 per cent compared with the same period last year, while there has also been a surge in lay-offs, recessions and staff being furloughed.
General secretary of the TUC Frances O’Grady said: “We know it’s a tough road ahead. But the more people there are in work, the faster we can work our way out of recession.”
She added: “Young people, in particular, can’t be left to the misery of long-term unemployment. And it’s the best value option for the treasury.”
The TUC proposed a job guarantee scheme to create additional roles; offer secure contracts of at least six months; pay at least the real living wage; enable work that benefits the country; give training opportunities; and provide guaranteed access to trade union representation.
A critical European clinical trial has been announced that could lead to the development of less invasive and more effective treatments for neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer.
The SIOPEN High-Risk Neuroblastoma Clinical Trial 2 is a Phase 3 clinical trial, funded by a grant of £609,762 that will make it the only upfront clinical trial for children in the UK diagnosed with this disease.
The University of Birmingham Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit is the UK national coordinator and will be responsible for delivering the trial across sites around the country.
“It’s fantastic to have been given this opportunity by Solving Kids’ Cancer and Neuroblastoma UK to bring this trial to UK neuroblastoma patients.
“We are grateful for the hard work of our UK investigators in our successful grant application and we look forward to working with them to open the trial for patients in early 2021,” Dr Emma Pond, solving Kids’ Cancer senior trial coordinator, said.
Approximately 100 children a year in the UK are diagnosed with this form of cancer, with around half classified as high risk. The majority of those diagnosed are under the age of five and long-term survival from the high-risk form is still between 40 and 50 per cent, despite intensive multi-modal therapy.
The cancer is commonly found in the adrenal glands, but it can also develop elsewhere, such as some parts of the abdomen, as well as in the chest, neck and spine.
Symptoms depend on which part of the body is afflicted, but include abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits,wheezing, chest pain, back pain and changes to the eyes, such as drooping eyelids and unequal pupil sizes.
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Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced a £1.25 billion coronavirus package to help UK firms driving innovation, including a £500 million investment fund for high-growth businesses affected by the pandemic.
In addition, there will be £750 million of targeted support for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are focusing on research and development.
The aim of this targeted and tailored help is to make sure that companies working in some of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, everything from tech to life sciences, are protected at this time so they can continue developing innovative new products while powering growth in the UK.
The Future Fund will be launched in May and delivered in collaboration with the British Business Bank, providing companies with between £125,000 and £5 million from the government, with private investors at least matching this commitment.
The £750 million of support for the most research and development-intensive SMEs will be made available through Innovate UK’s grants and loan scheme.
Mr Sunak said: “Britain is a global leader when it comes to innovation. Our start-ups and businesses driving research and development are one of our great economic strengths, and will help power our growth out of the coronavirus crisis.
“This new, world-leading fund will mean they can access the capital they need at this difficult time, ensuring dynamic, fast-growing firms across all sectors will be able to continue to create new ideas and spread prosperity.”
Leading forecasting group the EY Item Club has just published a report suggesting that it will take three years for the UK economy to fully recover from the fallout of the pandemic, the Guardian reports.
A month after lockdown measures were introduced, bringing huge parts of the economy to a grinding halt, the organisation has warned that nearly half of all consumer expenditure this year is at risk of being either delayed or lost altogether.
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The Department of Health has announced that the UK has now rolled out the biggest trial of possible coronavirus treatments in the world, with nearly 1,000 patients from 132 different hospitals recruited in just 15 days.
Numerous medications recommended by a panel of experts giving advice to the chief medical officer for England are now being tested, including Lopinavir-Ritonavir (used to treat HIV), Dexamethasone (a steroid used to reduce inflammation in a range of different conditions) and hydroxychloroquine (which is used to treat malaria).
The study has received £2.1 million from UK Research and Innovation and the Department of Health and Social Care, part of a wider £20 million rapid research response investment to support finding new ways to tackle the outbreak.
This comes after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency fast-tracked clinical trials for potential treatments, meaning that patients could see faster access if medicines are found to be effective.
“The Recovery trial will provide much-needed evidence on the best care for patients with COVID-19. The more patients that are enrolled, the sooner we will know how best to treat this disease.
“We are very grateful to those patients who are participating and to the hospital and research staff who are helping us to find the best treatments,” Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University, said.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph earlier this month (April 6th), researchers from the university intimated that in a best case scenario a vaccine could be ready as early as the autumn.
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There are now two patients who have been cured of HIV infection, which has led researchers to start hunting for a more widely available cure using gene therapy.
The two men who have been cured of their HIV infections “benefited from a combination of medical and genetic chance”, an article for CBS News explained.
It revealed that Adam Castillejo, known as the London Patient, received a bone marrow transplant to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma, an otherwise untreatable blood cancer. Due to a genetic mutation in his donor’s bone marrow, Mr Castillejo is HIV free two and a half years on.
Timothy Ray Brown, known as the Berlin Patient and the first man to be cured of HIV, also had a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia. Just as with Mr Castillejo, his donor also carried the same genetic mutation.
The mutation applies to a protein found on the surface of white blood cells called CCR5.
Rowena Johnston, vice president and director of research at amfAR, the Foundation for Aids Research, explained to the news provider why this mutation has cured HIV in these two patients.
“HIV uses this protein to gain entry into the cells it infects,” she said. “If you’re a person with this genetic mutation, which means you don’t have that protein, it’s almost impossible for HIV to infect any of your cells.”
This means that both men essentially received a new immune system when they had their bone marrow transplants.
There are many obstacles to this approach being a widespread cure, not least of all that any potential donor will not only need to be a match but to carry this specific genetic mutation. Bone marrow transplants are also gruelling and high-risk medical treatments.
But, while this isn’t necessarily the best option for an HIV cure, it does give researchers and those with HIV hope.
Ms Johnston said that seeing these two patients cured, along with a potential third patient in Germany, indicates there could be a genetic cure for the condition.
“It’s a long way away. I’m not saying that’s happening tomorrow. But it gives you the sense that it might be worth putting in the effort to see if we can develop the technologies to make that happen,” Ms Johnston asserted.
Speaking to CNN Health, Sharon Lewin, director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne, said that while Mr Castillejo’s treatment was an “exciting advance” it’s important to view it in context.
“We need to constantly reiterate the importance of prevention, early testing and treatment adherence as the pillars of the current global response to HIV/AIDS. And maintain the search for an HIV cure,” Ms Lewin stated.
Mr Castillejo revealed his identity in an interview with the New York Times, the news provider noted. He told the newspaper that he wanted to be “an ambassador of hope” after experiencing years of difficult treatments.
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Agenda’s Business Continuity Plan has been fully activated, ensuring we can continue delivering services to your facilities. This includes making our Contract Technicians available to you, whilst protecting both you and them. Agenda’s strategy is designed to support you and your teams as well as prioritising the animals in your care.
We want you to know that all office staff have now been deployed to work from home, allowing them to support you with current vacancies and respecting the strong government advice in place.
I want to personally thank our dedicated team of excellent Animal Technicians who are working extra-hard in difficult times to ensure the welfare of your animals.
As always, we are only a phone call away and this will not change as the situation progresses, so if you need any help and guidance on your staffing then please do get in touch.
I’d like to personally wish you, your colleagues and your family all the very best and hope that you are not personally impacted by the effects of this pandemic.
Citylabs, the Manchester-based health innovation campus, is set to be expanded after its planning application was approved, with the new £35 million development a collaboration between Manchester Science Partnerships and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).
This new phase of the scheme will see the existing campus expanded by 125,000 sq ft, with the initial phase (Citylabs 1.0) home to diagnostics, digital health, medtech and genomics businesses, driving the future of medicine and healthcare forward.
Citylabs 2.0 is set to be completed in summer this year, providing a base for global diagnostics company QIAGEN. And the new development, Citylabs 4.0, is due to be built at the south of the MFT Oxford Road campus, with seven floors of office and lab space available.
Director of research and innovation at MFT professor Neil Hanley said: “At MFT, we are all rightly proud that the Citylabs approach has brought together NHS, academic and commercial sectors, completely in line with the UK Government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.
“In the current trying circumstances, the importance of continual research and innovation becomes ever more obvious as we strive to make the new discoveries that benefit our patients, the public and UK economy.”
Those of you looking for life science vacancies at the moment may find it beneficial to get in touch with us here at Agenda Life Sciences.
We specialise in both permanent and temporary recruitment, working with all sorts of businesses in a wide range of niches, from biotech to pharmaceuticals, with positions in genetics, immunology, pathology, lab animal science, microbiology and more. Get in touch with us today to find out more.
As coronavirus continues to spread around the world, the urgency to develop a vaccine against the flu-like infection keeps growing.
This is why several medical research companies are putting all their efforts into trying to find an inoculation to prevent the life-threatening condition or a treatment that can cure it.
To date, there have been more than 111,000 cases of coronavirus, with 3,882 deaths. With a six per cent mortality rate, it is crucial those in the medical research field work hard to find a vaccination or cure for the respiratory illness.
According to Market Watch, these companies include Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Vir Biotechnology and Inovio Pharmaceuticals.
However, they are all still at the pre-clinical or clinical trial stage, which suggests there is still some way to go before a solution to the virus.
The chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation Jane Halton recently said a vaccination is at least one year away, adding that multiple versions need to be developed to find one that is safe to use and can be manufactured on a global scale.
After this, she said it would take “many, many months to produce the hundreds of millions of doses that will be needed for this vaccine”.
However, one scientist has come out to say he had been close to developing a cure for coronavirus years ago but had to stop due to a lack of investment.
Dr Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told NBC News: “We just could not generate much interest.”
If they had, the scientists could have been testing the vaccine as soon as the outbreak began in December 2019.
As companies plough more of their resources into developing a vaccine or treatment for coronavirus, there could be greater demand to fill life science vacancies.