Tag: ITM News

MATT Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met Cancer Research UK-funded scientists at the Institute of Translational Medicine on Thursday, 23 August to learn about their life-saving work.

The minister saw first-hand the pioneering research taking place at the Cancer Research UK Centre, particularly in the fields of bowel and lung cancer.

During the visit, Mr Hancock was given a tour of the labs with Dr Andrew Beggs who is heading a £1.5 million research programme aimed at finding new treatments for bowel cancer.

The pioneering research, the first of its kind in the UK, involves scientists taking samples of 200 patients in order to grow bowel cancer avatars – or mini tumours – in the laboratory. The avatars are then exposed to over 2,000 drugs and treatments, some of which have never been previously tested.

Mr Hancock also met researchers at the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit who are investigating a wide range of cancers, including breast, skin, blood cancers and head and neck cancers.

And he visited the Children’s Cancer Trials Team at the University which co-ordinates ground breaking clinical trials at centres around the country, making innovative new treatments available to children with cancer.

Mr Hancock said: “I have been hugely impressed by the incredible work to revolutionise cancer treatment, driven by the partnership between academics, business, charities and the NHS.

“The collaboration between Cancer Research UK and Birmingham Health Partners demonstrates the critical importance of a shared scientific approach. It promises to be transformative for patients.”

Emma Greenwood, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Cancer Research UK, said she was delighted to have the support of Mr Hancock in highlighting the work of the centre.

She said: “With the NHS plan for the next decade soon to be published, it’s encouraging to see the new Health Secretary visiting today and standing shoulder to shoulder with the NHS workforce.

“For the 85 people diagnosed with cancer every day in the West Midlands, early diagnosis and treatment staff are vital to tackle their cancers sooner and more effectively.

“To face the challenge of a growing and ageing population and achieve outcomes that are amongst best in world for patients, we need fantastic research centres like this one paired with a cancer workforce that’s fit for the future.”

Last year, Cancer Research UK spent over £9 million on pioneering research in the region.

Professor David Adams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Head of College of Medical and Dental Sciences and Dean of Medicine, Professor of Hepatology and Director of NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Birmingham said: “With our Cancer Research-UK and NHS partners, we are leading some of the most advanced work across the globe to develop and test new cancer treatments, with the ultimate goal of improving survival rates.

“The Secretary of State’s signalled commitment to continue the Government’s support in this crucial research area is welcome. We will continue to build on recent advances in genetics and precision medicine to deliver cutting edge clinical trials that lead to the successful treatment of a range of cancers.”

A project that could revolutionise how sports-related concussion injuries are diagnosed recently won the prestigious Sankey prize.

The REpetitive COncussion in Sport (RECOS) project, led by researchers at the NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre (SRMRC) within the ITM, and University of Birmingham, could help create a test that can be performed pitch-side and objectively determine if a player has been concussed.

The Sankey prize, awarded by the Birmingham Sankey society in honour of a famous surgeon, is a Birmingham-wide award for clinical research. Dozens of abstract entries were shortlisted, and the final four were presented and judged at an event at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) in May.

Dave Davies, NIHR SRMRC Clinical Lecturer, gave the presentation, and has also presented at Grand Round.

“It was fantastic to win the senior Sankey prize for research for our work on measuring concussion,” said Dave.

“We have already identified specific markers that can predict prolonged symptoms and help monitor recovery afterwards, and we now believe these markers could help develop a diagnostic device that could be used pitch-side.

“While I gave the presentation, it’s been a real team effort, and I’d really like to thank my colleagues across the SRMRC and University.

“As the recent Lorius Karius story shows, concussion is increasingly common across all sports, so being able to provide an objective diagnosis during a game would have massive benefits.”

Diagnosis of concussion is currently based on clinical judgements, but RECOS is likely to lead to objective tests that could help better diagnose and manage concussion in the future.

In the 2017/18 season, rugby players from Aviva Premiership Rugby and Green King IPA Championship clubs who suffered concussion in a game came to UHB for clinical tests including neuroimaging, the results of which are compared with blood and saliva samples collected pitch-side by club medics.

Dave works closely with Valentina Di Pietro, senior Research Fellow at UoB, who has developed the biomarkers.

“We’ve noticed that a ‘switch’ occurs during concussion in the brain, leading to changes that can be detected on advanced imaging techniques called spectroscopy, as well as in micro-RNAs,” said Valentina.

“Potentially, we could confirm concussion during a game, which will also help guide recovery times.

“The research will benefit players of all abilities, across all sports.”

The study was carried out in collaboration with the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association, and was the biggest of its kind to take place in the history of UK sport.  A follow-up trial will be led by the RFU.

Professor Tony Belli is the lead for RECOS, and also runs the Birmingham Sport Concussion Clinic (BSCC), which is based at UHB and forms part of the SRMRC. It is open to professional and amateur athletes from the across the West Midlands, and currently sees hundreds of athletes a year.

More information about the BSCC can be found here: https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/birmingham-sport-concussion-clinic.htm

The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt MP, was joined by Greg Clark MP and Professor Sir John Bell on Wednesday 30 August at the Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) – co-located on the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham campus – to make two major national life sciences investment announcements as part of the launch of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.

Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), announced £146 million of government money over four years for five projects which will support advanced therapies, advanced medicines and vaccines development and manufacturing. The programme is expected to leverage a further £253 million from partners. The projects are:

• Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre: A £13 million competition to establish a new centre, in partnership with industry, that will accelerate the adoption of emerging and novel manufacturing technologies
• Vaccines Development and Manufacturing Centre: To develop and manufacture vaccines for clinical trials and prepare for emergency epidemic threats, the Government is investing £66m in a new centre of excellence
• Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre: £30m investment in three new sites will help establish a network of centres, based in hospitals, that will transform the UK’s ability to develop and deliver cell and gene therapies to a large number of patients
• Expanding the Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Centre: Enhancing the UK’s offer in the fast-moving field of cell and gene therapy by investing £12m in doubling the capacity of the Cell and Gene Therapy Centre in Stevenage
• Research & Development to support innovation at the manufacturing centres: Through a new collaborative scheme, the Government is investing £25m to support SMEs working in this sector and boost innovation.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP said: “The UK has always been at the forefront of scientific excellence. From the discovery of antibiotics to our world-leading 100,000 Genomes project, we have a proud history of medical breakthrough and innovation.

“I want patients to continue to be at the front of the queue for the best treatments available, whether that means early access to trials, giving staff brand new innovations and technology to work with, or being at the heart of research to share best practice quickly across the health and social care system. A strong and growing life sciences sector ensures this, particularly as we negotiate our exit from the EU.”

In welcoming the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy, the Health Secretary is also announcing £14m funding to support 11 medical technology research centres to encourage collaboration between the NHS and industry in developing and bringing new technologies to patients through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This will mean patients will continue to benefit from new technologies which will help to improve diagnosis and get them the treatment they need quickly.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “The life sciences sector is of critical importance to the UK economy and UK health – with over 5,000 companies, nearly 235,000 employees and a turnover of £64 billion in 2016 – and the Government is committed to continuing to help this sector go from strength to strength.

“The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy demonstrates the world-class expertise the UK already has in this sector and represents the industry’s vision for how we can build on our world-leading reputation in this field.

“We will be engaging with Sir John Bell in the coming months in an effort to work towards a Sector Deal that helps us seize the opportunities in this area.”

The University of Birmingham’s Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences and Director of Birmingham Health Partners Professor David Adams welcomed the guests, stating: “This is an exciting time to be working in life sciences and it is a great pleasure to welcome Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt here today.

“Here in Birmingham we are proud of our innovative work, created in exciting partnerships between academia, the NHS and industry. I am delighted to hear their announcements today, and look forward to seeing them come to fruition.”

Following the announcements Professor Sir John Bell, Regus Chair of Medicine at the University of Oxford, who led on the development of the strategy, delivered a keynote speech.

Following the Secretary of State for Health the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt’s announcement of £14.25m funding to support 11 NIHR medtech and in vitro diagnostic cooperatives nationally, we are delighted to announce that University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) has been awarded funding to establish the NIHR Trauma Management MedTech Cooperative (MTC) here at the ITM.

The cooperatives will build expertise and capacity in the NHS to develop new medical technologies and provide evidence on commercially supplied in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests. Funding will be provided over five years for leading NHS organisations to act as centres of expertise, bringing together patients, clinicians, researchers, commissioners and industry. The NIHR Trauma MTC at UHB will have a specific focus on medical devices and technology in the trauma management field, led by Dr Tom Clutton-Brock.

UHB is a UK major trauma centre, home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, and a regional burns centre. This award will allow the Trust to build on five successful years of working with the public, clinicians, academics and industry to drive innovation in the medtech sector, as part of the NIHR Healthcare Technology Cooperatives initiative.

University Hospitals Birmingham is also a part of Birmingham Health Partners (BHP), a strategic alliance between UHB, the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. BHP focuses on the identification, adoption and spread of innovation and best practice through the alignment of healthcare delivery, research and training. It aims to improve healthcare, contribute to the local economy through job creation and inward investment into the biomedical sector, and increase public engagement and education about biomedicine and clinical research.

Dr Louise Wood, Director of Science, Research and Evidence at the Department of Health said: “The funding received by the eleven NIHR medtech and in vitro diagnostic cooperatives will make a real difference to patients’ lives and provide a focal point for the medtech and in vitro diagnostic industries to develop new technologies and generate the evidence needed by the NHS to support the uptake of new tests.”

The commencement of the NIHR Trauma MTC will coincide with the launch of the Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC) in Birmingham in January 2018, also at the ITM, which will offer a unique opportunity to facilitate evaluation of products for industry in a ‘real-life’ environment, involving appropriate clinical and technical staff.

You can read the NIHR’s announcement and find further details of the new NIHR medtech and in vitro diagnostic cooperatives on the NIHR website.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded £3.5m after successfully bidding for European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) monies to establish a Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC) in partnership with the University of Birmingham and Aston University.

The grant will be match-funded, including £2.5m capital from University of Birmingham, meaning £7m will be invested in accelerating the translation of novel innovations in the laboratory through to the clinic and commercial exploitation.

It will support the development of existing markets and stimulate new ones for small and medium sized Life Sciences businesses, enabling them to bring products to market quickly, at less cost with reduced risk.

MD-TEC will be based at the Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM), a facility delivered by Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) and located at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, which is run by UHB.

It goes live this month (January 2017) with completion of the refurbishment by August 2017. Alongside the key delivery partners Birmingham City University, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network will also be supporting partners.

Liam Grover, Professor in Biomaterials Science at the University of Birmingham, will lead biomaterials development and Dr Tom Clutton-Brock, Clinical Director, NIHR Trauma Management Healthcare Technology Cooperative and Deputy Director of the ITM, will lead medical device usability and safety testing.

Prof Grover said: “MD-TEC will help develop a life sciences cluster around the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham campus and, more broadly, an innovation eco-system across the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBS LEP) area.

“It will remove a regulatory blockage to the development of the local life science economy by providing a set of facilities that we have identified to be absent in the region.”

Dr Clutton-Brock said: “It is envisaged that up to 135 small and medium sized enterprises could benefit from the refurbished facilities in the ITM and expertise for ISO-accredited characterisation of devices in terms of safety and usability between May 2017 and March 2020.

“The project will build on the vision of the ITM to accelerate the translation of novel innovations in the laboratory and in simulated clinical environments through to the clinic and commercial exploitation.”

For further details email MDTEC@uhb.nhs.uk.