Development of sustainable academic-industry partnerships: Untapping breakthrough innovation for the treatment and management of infectious diseases

Infectious diseases represent a continuous and increasing threat to human health both nationally and internationally. In the UK, rapid increases in antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) and recent experiences from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, highlight the need for investment in solutions to manage and eliminate these threats to human health. There is scope for optimism however as running parallel to these challenges, technological advancement and innovation are creating new opportunities for managing and mitigating against infectious disease crises. These include improved platforms for diagnostic, vaccine and therapeutics discovery, as well as advancements in disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, robotics and drone technology.

It is clear from the current COVID-19 pandemic that academic partnerships with industry are key to quickly developing the required tools and the elimination of bottlenecks essential to addressing the health needs. Whilst it is broadly recognised that strengths in basic science reside in academia, it is the industrial sector that has the expertise and capability to bring innovations to market quickly.

The largest cluster of infection-focused businesses in Europe is growing in the North West. In addition, the Liverpool City Region (LCR) has been identified in a 2017 BEIS-commissioned "LCR+" Science & Innovation Audit (SIA), to possess a concentration of "smart specialisation" opportunities in interrelated sectors of 4IR/advanced manufacturing, clean growth, digital and createch, and health and life sciences. Demonstrable and genuinely distinctive science and industry assets and capabilities include the Materials Innovation Factory, the STFC Hartree Centre supercomputer and the IBM Watson platform.

The key challenge that forms the basis of this application is how to unlock the innovation potential of this unique scientific and industrial cluster to develop solutions that address the described health needs of existing and emerging infectious diseases.

Aims &Objectives:
Setting up links between academia and industry requires mutual trust, commitment, motivation and the creation of bilateral value through a common purpose. This can be challenging to set up as the two sectors generally have different goals and objectives and operate with different procedures and cultures.

The overarching aim of this application is for the secondee to gain the relevant knowledge, experience and skills that will aid him in the development of a strategic road map and effective operational models that support the development of innovative solutions to current and emerging infectious disease-related health needs. Towards this aim, the specific objectives include:

(i) To gain broader knowledge of the regional private sector scientific and industrial strengths, especially in disruptive technologies.
(ii) To gain deeper knowledge and experience of effective enabling activities and operational models used to foster a climate of innovation between academia and industry.
(iii) To gain a better understanding of the sector skills priorities and knowledge of effective mechanisms that facilitate career mobility.
(iv) To gain a greater understanding of the role that academia can play to increase the productivity of industry and the impact that these relationships and investments make both regionally and nationally.

Successful completion of this secondment has the potential to benefit both the secondee and the secondment organisation by fostering a sustainable partnership that (i) accelerates the generation of breakthrough innovations for the benefit of human health, (ii) results in upskilling of the workforce enabling sector mobility and (iii) impacts by increasing the productivity of the local and national economy. These outputs are directly aligned to the aims of the UKRI Innovation Secondment scheme.

The development of solutions to public health crises requires a new model. It is a matter of "when" not "if" that further new public health emergencies, including AMR and new pathogenic outbreaks, will occur. Whilst the recent COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating, both in terms of the dramatic loss of human life and the negative impact on the economy, it has nevertheless demonstrated that academic partnerships with industry are key to quickly developing the required tools essential to addressing future health needs. Academia retains strength in basic science, and the industrial sector has the expertise and capability to bring innovations to market quickly.

In the past decade, the North West region of the UK has been recognised to have the largest cluster of infection-focused businesses in Europe. In addition, the Liverpool City Region (LCR) has been identified to possess a concentration of "smart specialisation" opportunities in interrelated sectors of 4IR/advanced manufacturing, clean growth, digital and createch, and health and life sciences.

This secondment aims to develop the applicant's knowledge, skills and capabilities to forge sustainable partnership between the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and Unilever plc, to untap the potential of breakthrough innovation to address unmet public health needs. This experience will provide the applicant with the necessary tools to forge future partnerships with other organisations within the region.

The partner organisations have shared values and missions and both organisations have the potential to gain significant benefits from the partnership including direct effects on the health and wellbeing of people, the potential for the modernisation of the academic R&D processes including upskilling of the workforce, and a demonstrable increase in the productivity of the sector. These outputs are directly aligned to the aims of the UKRI Innovation Secondment scheme.