Theme 2 Workshop: Accelerating Therapeutic and Diagnostics Development
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Theme 2 Workshop: Accelerating therapeutic and diagnostics development Workshop Report ............................................................................................. 2 1. Background ............................................................................................... 2 2. Format of the Workshops ............................................................................ 2 3. Workshop presentations .............................................................................. 3 4. Breakout sessions and group discussions ...................................................... 3 5. Research challenges ................................................................................... 4 6. Mechanisms to address some of the challenges .............................................. 6 7. Update on Theme 2 .................................................................................... 8 Annex 1: AMR Small molecules Delegate Booklet ............................................ 9 Background Information ................................................................................. 10 Agenda ......................................................................................................... 11 Delegates ..................................................................................................... 13 Contact Details .............................................................................................. 37 Annex 2: AMR Alternatives Delegate Booklet ................................................. 38 Background Information ................................................................................. 39 Agenda ......................................................................................................... 40 Delegates ..................................................................................................... 42 Contact Details .............................................................................................. 69 Annex 3: AMR Diagnostics Delegate Booklet ................................................. 70 Background Information ................................................................................. 71 Agenda ......................................................................................................... 72 Delegates ..................................................................................................... 74 Contact Details .............................................................................................. 95 Page 1 of 95 Workshop Report 1. Background The research councils, along with other UK funders, have been working together to identify a number of research opportunities and challenges to tackling the rise in AMR. A cross-council initiative led and managed by the MRC was launched in June 2014 (www.mrc.ac.uk/amr). The initiative would foster a multidisciplinary approach needed to make a step change in addressing the AMR challenge. Funders have worked together to identify four key themes to target investments over the next five years. These themes would foster collaboration between diverse disciplines and share information across the public and private sectors. This would enable access to tools, compound libraries, datasets and screens to acquire new insight into the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, the evolution of resistance and to drive the discovery of new diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic strategies for bacterial infections, particularly important for antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. The four themes identified were: Theme 1: Understanding the resistant bacteria in the context of the host Theme 2: Accelerating therapeutic and diagnostics development Theme 3: Understanding the real world interactions Theme 4: Behaviour within and beyond the healthcare setting The MRC organised three workshops under Theme 2: ‘Small molecule approaches to antibiotics – how can we develop, enhance and target?’, ‘Alternative approaches for the treatment of bacterial infections’ and ‘Developing diagnostic tools for bacterial infections and AMR’. These workshops aimed to bring together researchers from a range of scientific disciplines (from academia and industry) to discuss the key challenges associated with AMR, to encourage networking and collaborative research and to scope a funding call that was to be launched in Spring 2015. 2. Format of the Workshops The aims of the workshop were to: ● encourage networking of researchers across scientific areas to forge strong multi-disciplinary research teams, ● encourage partnerships between academia and industry to accelerate the exploitation of small molecule therapeutics, ● provide an opportunity for consortia to start to come together resulting in the development of strong, innovative outline proposals, ● provide an opportunity to have input into funding models, assisting the Research Councils to shape the call for Theme 2 of the AMR initiative. Participant lists for the three workshops are available in Annex 1: AMR Small molecules Delegate Booklet, Annex 2: AMR Alternatives Delegate Booklet and Annex 3: AMR Diagnostics Delegate Booklet. Each workshop comprised of a series of short presentations followed by breakout sessions and plenary feedback sessions. The presentations from key academic and industrial scientists set the scene for the day and provided topics to be discussed at the break-out sessions. Page 2 of 95 3. Workshop presentations Small molecules workshop – held on the 25th November 2014 Dr Paul Brennan (University of Oxford) chaired the day which opened with Dr Ghada Zoubiane (MRC) introducing Theme 2 of the Cross Council AMR initiative and the aims of the workshop. Keynote presentations from Dr Jared Silverman (Cubist Pharmaceuticals) and Dr John Ridden (Blueberry Therapeutics) provided the industry perspective to small molecules research and an outlook on their own experiences which included successes and challenges. They both emphasised the importance of collaboration in drug discovery, requiring a dynamic team with the right expertise at the right time. Shorter talks delivered by Professor Tim McHugh (UCL), Dr Mark Graham (MG Toxicology Consulting), Professor Chris Schofield (University of Oxford) and Dr James Mittra (University of Edinburgh) discussed the importance of cross-disciplinary working across the fields of public health, toxicology, organic chemistry and social sciences. Although distinct fields, these presentations highlighted the necessity of working across research areas to address the problem of AMR. Alternative approaches workshop – held on the 27th November 2014 Professor Paul Moss (University of Birmingham) chaired the day which opened with Dr Desmond Walsh (MRC) introducing Theme 2 of the Cross Council AMR initiative and the aims of the workshop. A keynote presentation from Professor Peter Dobson (University of Oxford) delivered his perspective on the use of nanoparticulate technology as an approach to treating infection. He provided examples of how this approach has been used and how it could be further utilised in the future. He also highlighted the challenges with the technology that exist and emphasised the importance of collaborative approaches as it develops. Shorter talks delivered by Professor Simon Foster (University of Sheffield), Professor Peter Taylor (University College, London), Professor Ken Smith (University of Cambridge) and Dr Adam Wilkinson (Phico Therapeutics) discussed the importance of cross-disciplinary working to integrate scientific disciplines. These presentations reiterated how research into alternative therapeutics to address the problem of AMR is warranted and has proved to be successful in the treatment of some bacterial infections. Diagnostics workshop – held on the 1st December 2014 Professor Stephen Holgate (University of Southampton) chaired the day which opened with Dr Ghada Zoubiane (MRC) introducing Theme 2 of the Cross Council AMR initiative and the aims of the workshop. A keynote presentation delivered by Professor Alison Holmes (Imperial College, London) provided an overview of her own experiences in diagnostics research, including research projects that were unsuccessful and the challenges in the field that currently exist. Shorter talks delivered by Professor John Wain (University of East Anglia/Discuva), Dr Jon Read (University of Liverpool), Professor Chris Toumazou (Imperial College, London), Professor Chris Butler (University of Oxford) and Professor Joyce Tait (University of Edinburgh) discussed the importance of cross-disciplinary working with academia and industry across different technical areas of diagnostics research but also more broadly including mathematical modelling, public health and social sciences. 4. Breakout sessions and group discussions Two breakout sessions provided opportunities for delegates to discuss the different issues faced by researchers from different disciplines. A group discussion on the topic of funding for Theme 2 allowed researchers to actively contribute to how the theme should be supported. A rapporteur from each group summarised the outcomes from these discussions. Breakout session 1: Translating new discoveries into the clinic. Page 3 of 95 The participants discussed the biggest challenges in product discovery and development and how to learn from past failures when trying to move new therapies forwards. Breakout session 2: Promoting interdisciplinary research. The participants discussed what disciplines they believed were required