UoDundee Confidence in Concept 2013
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Dundee
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Technical Summary
The Confidence in Concept scheme is a key part of MRC’s translational research strategy and provides annual awards to institutions, to be used flexibly to support the earliest stages of multiple translational research projects. The award can be used by the institution to support a number of preliminary-stage translational projects. The projects supported should aim to provide sufficient preliminary data to establish the viability of an approach –– before seeking more substantive funding. It is intended to accelerate the transition from discovery research to translational development projects by supporting preliminary work or feasibility studies to establish the viability of an approach.
Organisations
- University of Dundee (Lead Research Organisation)
- AstraZeneca (Collaboration)
- University Hospital Erlangen (Collaboration)
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) (Collaboration)
- Perceptive Bioscience Holdings Ltd (Collaboration)
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (Collaboration)
- Ubiquigent (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Michael Ferguson (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Martins Da Silva SJ
(2017)
Drug discovery for male subfertility using high-throughput screening: a new approach to an unsolved problem.
in Human reproduction (Oxford, England)
Prati F
(2018)
Screening of a Novel Fragment Library with Functional Complexity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis InhA.
in ChemMedChem
Varshney D
(2016)
Molecular basis of RNA guanine-7 methyltransferase (RNMT) activation by RAM
in Nucleic Acids Research
| Description | A Centre of Excellence for Lead Optimisation for Diseases of the Developing World |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | OPP1066891 |
| Organisation | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 06/2013 |
| End | 06/2018 |
| Description | BHF translational fund |
| Amount | £300,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | British Heart Foundation (BHF) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | Confidence in Concept 2014 |
| Amount | £700,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MC_PC_14099 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2015 |
| End | 08/2016 |
| Description | Institutional Strategic Support Fund Y4-5 |
| Amount | £550,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Department | Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2014 |
| End | 09/2016 |
| Description | project grant |
| Amount | £261,067 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arch Therapeutics |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 01/2017 |
| End | 12/2019 |
| Description | project grant |
| Amount | £69,984 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | |
| Description | project grant |
| Amount | £209,048 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Versus Arthritis |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2014 |
| End | 12/2016 |
| Description | strategic award |
| Amount | £3,120,698 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 06/2013 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Description | Hit TB TbCoABC sub-project |
| Organisation | Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Data and assays generated by the CiC supported HTS project. The hit Tb grant (our funded resource from the collaboration) we will support 1 FTE years chemistry and computational chemistry plus purchasing of commercial analogues of the hits. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Structural biology Tb cell biology and animal model work on selected examples. Fragment screening data and assays. |
| Impact | To early to generate defined outputs |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | InhA fragment based lead generation - Tres Cantos Open Lab award |
| Organisation | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Data from NMR fragment screen supported by Dundee CiC award. Project management, Drug Discovery leadership from DDU Tb group. UoD funding will also support Lead opinimsation efforts arrising from this work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Chemistry supported by open lab award. Structural biology, biochemical screening for InhA, early efficacy and tox assays. |
| Impact | Access to GSK models and systems. Funding for Medicinal chemistry posts. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Investment Partnership Agreement |
| Organisation | Perceptive Bioscience Holdings Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The University has signed an Investment Partnership Agreement with Perceptive that will allow the DDU to further translate programmes developed with MRC CiC funding up to preclinical candidates. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Perceptive will underwrite the CURE Fund for up to 10 years. |
| Impact | The investment sum will be disclosed later in the year. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | MKK4 Research Collaboration |
| Organisation | University Hospital Erlangen |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | Following a visit from Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund who were looking to fund a new company in Germany we were introduced to a group based in the University Hospital Tuebingen. The group had developed some novel biology around the role of MKK4 in liver regeneration but did not have any good chemical matter to start a drug discovery programme. The DDU initiated a collaboration with the University Hospital Tuebingen to develop a new assay and screen against MKK4. The University Hospital Tuebingen had an option to use the data to help the formation of a new company but with Dundee having rights to the data if the company was not formed. In the collaboration the UHT supplied the protein and transferred their assay. Dundee developed a new assay and performed a diversity screen. UHD will be given access to tool molecules. |
| Collaborator Contribution | In the collaboration the UHT supplied the protein and transferred their assay. UHD will also run Dundee tool molecules in thei biology systems. |
| Impact | UHT have now established Heparegenix based on the research from UHT adn the data produced by Dundee. A research agreement is now in place between Heparegenix and Dundee whereby Heparegenix will acquire sole rights to the Dundee data for a fee of £154,000 from their first funding round due to complete in Spring 2016. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Research Collaboration Agreement with AstraZeneca |
| Organisation | AstraZeneca |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Dundee presented a drug target that had been screened in the DDU in 2013. Confirmed hits were optimised but not further developable. We discussed with AZ a desire to screen against a different library to look for new start points |
| Collaborator Contribution | AZ have provided diversity and fragment libraries to Dundee |
| Impact | A new diversity screen will be completed q1 2017 |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Ubiquigent - DDU: DUB library |
| Organisation | Ubiquigent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit has developed a 500 member compound library of novle De-ubiquitinase targeted inhibitors. UoD has conducted pre-commercialisation basic research including developing in silico models of compound binding, virtual screening and library design and synthesis. The library that was generated was of sufficient interest to Ubiquigent that they wish to develop the asset as a new product line as part of a profit sharing agreement with UoD. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Using their DUB profiler platform, Ubiquigent are characterising the molecules developed by the University of Dundee Drug discovery group to determine whether novel DUB inhibitors have been identified. Ubiquigent are also developing a marketing and sales strategy around the DUB libray as a first of its kind product line. Ubiquigent will also conduct the sales and compound logistic elements of any commercialisaiton activities on the project. |
| Impact | Characterisation activities are ongoing but an agreement has been signed to cover commercialisaiton of the compound library |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Company Name | HepaRegeniX GmbH |
| Description | HepaRegeniX is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and clinical testing of selective and potent MKK4 inhibitors for liver disease and human tissue regeneration. The company, spun out of the University of Tubingen, was registered in January 2016 and has signed a collaboration with the DDU in Dundee where we have developed an screening assay for MKK4 and completed a diversity screen. The group in Germany was introduced to us through Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund who were looking for Dundee input to the technology before they committed to funding a spinout. |
| Year Established | 2016 |
| Impact | Heparegenix currently only has a handfull of employees but is expected to have 20 by the year end when full funding has been secured. Dundee will be awarded £154,000 to acquire sole ownership of the Dundee MKK4 data. |
| Website | http://www.recently-registered.com/www/heparegenix.com |