News from the Medical Research Council network Autumn 2014 Leading science for better health Shining light ondrug design The power of crystallography The glorious future of biostatistics: Staying one step ahead of the curve Opinion: Arming doctors with the best trials Network can also be downloaded as a PDF at: www.mrc.ac.uk/network CONTENTS NEWS COMMENT FROM News Seven pharma companies offer up Seven pharma companies offer up compounds compounds to UK researchers to UK researchers 3 John The MRC has formed a partnership with seven global Minister meets macaques 4 drug companies to grant researchers access to pharmaceutical compounds which stalled in early Savill industry testing but which may be of great value for CHIEF EXECUTIVE People improving our understanding of diseases. We’ve become complacent about AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Research & Development LLC, received less attention from industry. And because all of the molecules African leaders of tomorrow 5 bacterial infection; we expect that Lilly, Pfizer, Takeda and UCB will each offer up several molecules for have undergone some degree of early testing, treatments arising from there will always be a cure. But now, use in research. the research could reach patients faster. due to the threat of microbes becoming resistant to the drugs that Many of the compounds were not fully developed because they were The collaboration builds on the success of a previous compound-sharing should destroy them, we’re facing a found to be insufficiently effective against the disease in question. initiative between the MRC and AstraZeneca (AZ) launched in 2011. Latest discoveries scenario in which even the simplest However, academic researchers can use them to understand how a Projects from this partnership are starting to bear fruit, including the scratch could kill. disease takes hold in the body, how it might be stopped or slowed down, first human trials of a new treatment for chronic cough, using a New trigger for ovulation could make IVF safer 10 or to study diseases with shared biological pathways. compound which was originally developed by AZ to treat gastro- In the UK alone the research community has spent £275m oesophageal reflux disease. Nipping the malaria parasite in the bud 11 researching antimicrobial resistance since 2007. Yet, to date, Repurposing such compounds could ultimately lead to new drugs for a no effective solutions have been found. wide range of conditions including rare diseases that in the past have Find out how MRC researchers are designing new drugs on page 6 Thanks to work by Chief Medical Officer for England – and member of MRC Council – Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Funding idea that we must act urgently is gaining traction, and a coordinated approach is being put into action. Mapping out the future of molecular pathology UK to revolutionise fight against cancer and The MRC has undertaken a review which has highlighted the UK’s capabilities in molecular pathology – the analysis rare diseases 17 In July we announced the MRC-led Antimicrobial Resistance Funders’ Forum, an antimicrobial resistance ‘war cabinet’ of the molecules within tissue and body fluids to allow more accurate diagnosis and monitoring of disease. Funding for women and children’s health research 17 which brings together all seven of the research councils, eight government bodies and the Wellcome Trust, to tackle The review identifies areas which, if not addressed, could hold back the benefits that stratified medicine has to offer. I fully support the antimicrobial resistance with research in four themes. £25m is development of new diagnostic tests that would capitalise on the UK’s recommendations and am pleased that the MRC can commit funding to available to fund work in the first two. excellent science base and benefit research, health and the economy. deliver these.” The review also makes recommendations about how to tackle these That all seven research councils are uniting to fight areas of concern. With joint funding of up to £17.5m, the MRC and Engineering and Physical Features antimicrobial resistance serves to highlight the Sciences Research Council have joined forces to establish regional interdisciplinary nature of the problem. Each council has Sir John Savill explained: “UK Government and charitable funders, Molecular Pathology Nodes – centres of excellence that will bring clinical Shining light on drug design: the power of something to offer, from developing new techniques to study including the MRC, have committed more than £200m to stratified and research skills and expertise closer together. The investment will crystallography 6 bacteria in the laboratory to studying the social aspects of medicine in the last four years. However, for the UK and patients to fully support around eight awards, which will bring together molecular antibiotic use. benefit from this investment, we must create the very best environments pathology diagnostic research, development and service delivery across The glorious future of biostatistics 8 for the discovery, development and uptake of new therapies and a common infrastructure, with industry engagement. You can read more about the funders’ forum, and the range diagnostic tests. Joining forces in the antimicrobial arms race 12 of antimicrobial resistance research being carried out, in a For more information, visit www.mrc.ac.uk/molecularpathologyreview feature article on page 12. The MRC has undertaken a review of the challenges facing those Working life: Professor Dame Carol Robinson 14 developing novel diagnostic tests, so we can better understand what is Opinion: Arming doctors with the best trials 18 Sir John Savill needed for the UK to fully capture the clinical, economic and research MRC Chief Executive 2 | MRCNetwork MRCNetwork | 3 NEWS PEOPLE Industry and academia join forces to unravel dementia A century of science for health African leaders of tomorrow A £16 million public-private partnership to speed up research into dementia has been launched by the MRC. July saw current and past researchers attend a symposium at the National First MRC/LSHTM West African Fellow appointed Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) to celebrate its 100-year history. Announcing the launch at the Global Dementia Legacy Event in June, To find out more, visit www.mrc.ac.uk/ukdp The MRC and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt stressed “the desperate need for Featuring contributions from NIMR researchers, past and present, the have appointed Dr Brenda Kwambana of MRC Unit, The Gambia, as the first continued investment in dementia”. symposium covered research topics from infectious disease, immunology West African Global Health Research Fellow. and structural biology to neuroscience and developmental biology. It The aim of the UK Dementias Research Platform (UKDP) is to enable ended with a talk and film about the history of the NIMR, followed by the The fellowship scheme, aimed at attracting outstanding early career earlier detection of dementia, improve treatments and ultimately ceremonial cutting of an anniversary cake. postdoctoral researchers, offers funding for two candidates from West prevent the disease by looking not only at what is going wrong in the Africa and one from the EU over a three-year period. brain, but also studying the brain in the context of the whole body. A new book, A Century of Science for Health, tells the story behind the Causes of dementia will be investigated across a range of NIMR’s scientific achievements. Providing insights into the atmosphere and Since gaining her PhD in 2011, Brenda has developed her skills as the neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and changing attitudes at NIMR, it gives a compelling account of what it takes Gambia site coordinator of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation motor neuron disease. to create – and hold together – an institute over 100 years. Paediatric Microbiome Project and coordinator of the unit’s Genomics Interest Group. The UKDP brings together expertise from six companies and investigator Access the book, A Century of Science for Health, at teams from eight UK universities with over two million research www.historyofnimr.org.uk Brenda said: “Thank you to all the people who worked so hard to put this volunteers who have taken part in existing population studies such as UK scheme in place, targeting West Africans in particular. It demonstrates Biobank. UKDP researchers will be able to link a wealth of medical and the MRC’s and LSHTM’s commitment to meaningful capacity building in lifestyle data to emerging biological data from genetic studies, brain the sub-region.” imaging and cognitive testing. This will provide a better understanding of who is at risk of getting dementia, how it might be triggered, and what Read more in TAMA, the Gambia unit’s newsletter www.mrc.gm/tama might speed up or slow down its progression. Prestigious Royal Society prize for African research leader MRC fellows of the British Academy Minister meets macaques Dr Faith Osier, a recipient of an MRC/DFID African Research Leader award in 2013, has been awarded the Royal Society Pfizer Prize. The prize Minister of State for Crime Prevention the Rt Hon Norman Baker MP, who Mr Baker met the centre’s Chief Operating Officer, David Farningham; Two MRC directors have recently been made recognises African researchers early in their career who are making is responsible for regulating the use of animals in science, visited the MRC research