 Opening
of Revolutionary Institute
A £6 million Institute which
aims to make the University a global player in the development of new
medicines opened recently.
Left to right:
Paul Thorning and Lord Sainsbury
Science Minister Lord Sainsbury
joined other VIP guests to open the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation
(IPI) on the University's main campus.
The five-storey IPI will give
the pharmaceutical industry an unrivalled research base to bring new medicines
to the global market.
It will use the very latest
artificial intelligence and simulation-based computer methods together
with advanced analytical research, to predict how drugs can best be transformed
into medicines.
Developing a new medicines
takes between 8 and 12 years, costing on average $800m, but the IPI research
programme aims to reduce this time and cost.
Using computational prediction
and advanced analytical methods can drastically reduce the cost of developing
new medicines as much of the design, formulation and manufacturing of
medicines can be optimised 'in silico' (with computer simulation) rather
than by conventional testing.
To mark the opening, Lord Sainsbury
gave a keynote speech to guests including Director General of the Association
of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Professor Trevor Jones, Yorkshire
and Humber MEP David Bowe and City of Bradford Lord Mayor Allan Irving
Hillary (pictured right).
 He
said: "It is a pleasure to be involved in the opening of this exciting
new centre, which will promote international research excellence in drug
design and medicines development.
"The opening of this Institute
is timely as this is a year of scientific celebration, with the 50th anniversary
of the discovery of the DNA Double Helix and the completion of the human
genome sequence. This month also saw the UK win another Nobel Prize in
Medicine with Sir Peter Mansfield's development of magnetic resonance
imaging.
"We are today at the beginning
of a new age in medicines as a result of developments in the life sciences,
chemistry, and information technology, and this Institute is important
because it is harnessing sophisticated artificial intelligence-based predictive
and analytical computer methods to aid in the design of optimum formulation
and delivery methods."
 Left
to right: Science Minister Lord Sainsbury, University Senior Pro-Chancellor
and Chairperson of Council Mr Tommy Ashdown and University Vice-Chancellor
Professor Chris Taylor.
Lord Sainsbury went on to say
that the IPI "will also be operating in a very valuable part of the British
economy.
"Pharmaceutical domestic market
sales to the NHS were valued at £8.6 billion in 2002, whilst exports were
worth an estimated £10.33 billion. It is the UK's third largest sector
by trade surplus - some £2.8 billion in 2002.
 "Amongst
all sectors, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is the biggest
investor in research and development in the UK - accounting for nearly
40% of the UK's total industrial research and development."
Right: Senior
Scientist Frank Leusen.
The lower floors of the IPI
will house the analytical, laboratory and computational facilities which
will be used by both the University's researchers and pharmaceutical industry
clients.
Yorkshire Forward, the regional
development agency, has sponsored the top floor of the building which
will act as an 'incubator' to support new enterprises. It is hoped the
Institute will create a number of spin-offs and create a cluster of innovative
bioscience companies in Yorkshire.
The University has a strong
track record in this area with past successes including the establishment
of Bradford Particle Design (now Nektar Therapeutics), which was sold
for $200m.
 Left
to right: Partner at Addelshaw Goddard Mr Jonathan Priestley, Professor
of Medical Innovation Peter O'Donovan and Mr Damian Riley.
Lord Sainsbury also talked
about the 'incubator' in the Institute when he said: "I am also delighted
that the fifth floor of the Institute is a dedicated bioincubator, which
will provide the opportunity to get academics working with companies,
and a place to bring research and development and exploitation together.
The bioincubator will also offer the essential financial and business
support expertise, which is key to the success of a start-up company.
"I am pleased to see that
Yorkshire Forward has been involved in this new Institute providing £2
million of funding. I know that Yorkshire Forward see bioscience as important
for the future growth of the region, and is successfully supporting and
promoting it.
"The Yorkshire and Humber region
has a strong bioscience knowledge base. With ten universities and over
40 colleges, the region produces more than 10% of the UK's graduates -
over 40% qualifying in science and technology."
Head of Chemicals and Bioscience
at Yorkshire Forward, Paul Ellwood, said: "The University of Bradford
has a very strong reputation for producing high-quality research in pharmaceuticals.
"Yorkshire Forward is pleased
to be sponsoring the incubator element of the IPI which will provide a
platform for even greater success for the University and the Yorkshire
and Humber bioscience cluster."
 Paul
Thorning, who was recently appointed as Director of the IPI, also gave
a talk at the opening. Paul has more than 14 years' experience working
in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in manufacturing, marketing,
consultancy and senior executive roles.
He was formerly director of
Stratalyst, which offered consultancy services within the pharmaceutical
industry to optimise the life-cycle and profile of 'blockbuster' drugs.
Paul said: "I am delighted
to have the opportunity to lead the Institute which, I believe, will become
a global centre of excellence for the advancement of pharmaceutical products.
"The IPI will be a truly world-class
facility and it is our vision that it will make a significant contribution
to innovation in healthcare - both through its own research activities
and in providing high-quality services to bioscience businesses."
At the event Paul talked about
the background to the IPI, the IPI vision, the typical products and services,
the building and facilities and the project and team. He said he was delighted
to welcome everyone together in celebrating its opening.
After talks from Paul and Lord
Sainsbury the guests enjoyed a lunch on the fourth floor of the IPI before
being invited to tour the new Institute.
 Professor
of Physical Pharmaceutics at the University Professor Peter York (pictured
left ) gave a talk in the afternoon.
Peter offered an insight into
the science of the IPI and the development of medicines "from molecules
to man".
He said: "What we are about
is transforming those identified molecules into medicine . . . It is not
trivial, it is not easy but we can streamline the process."
Peter also talked about the
strengths of the IPI in the areas of prediction and optimisation and how
the use of advanced computational tools will help enormously. He added
that the IPI is "a unique vision for pharmaceutical science."
Funding for the Institute has
come from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (£1.875m),
Yorkshire Forward (£2m), the DTI's Science and Research Investment Fund
(£2.63m) and £280,000 from other funds.
6 January
2004
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