ASTRAZENECADrawing on our combined strengths to deliver safe ande!ectivemedicines and improve outcomes for patients.

BUSINESSENGAGEMENTCASESTUDY

JOINT RESEARCHResearch into cancer, particularly lung cancer, is amajor part of our work with AstraZeneca. ThroughtheManchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC)- a collaboration between UoM, the Christie NHSFoundation Trust, Cancer Research UK and thePaterson Institute for Cancer Research –AstraZeneca supports several research strandslooking at how cancer develops and applying thatresearch to new diagnostic tests, treatments andways of predicting and preventing cancer.

These include groundbreaking research into bloodborne biomarkers and how understanding these canimprove drug development, cancer imaging,radiation and chemotherapy research, and earlyphase clinical trials. AstraZeneca has also beeninstrumental in developing theMCRC Biobank,Greater Manchester’s human cancer tissuecollection, which holds over 2,600 samples availablefor cancer studies.

In 2011, UoM and AstraZeneca, in partnership withGlaxoSmithKline, launched theManchesterCollaborative Centre for In!ammation Research(MCCIR), aimed at establishing a world-leadingtranslational centre for in!ammatory diseases–more details overleaf.

STAFF ANDSTUDENT SUPPORTUsing its network of alliances, AstraZeneca has

helped to bring several international clinicians to the

MCRC as part of a sta" exchange scheme, and is

involved in reciprocal training programmeswith

partner organisations. There are also two joint

appointments in clinical oncology and imaging

science, both linked to theMCRC. The company has

shown its commitment to supporting the next

generation of researchers by awarding bursaries to

students on theMRes in Translational Medicine:

Pharmaceutical Cancer programme, o"ering

research placements and providing industry input to

the course.

KNOWLEDGEANDRESOURCESHARINGAstraZeneca provides MCRC researchers with

access to its entire catalogue of drug compounds.

These drugs have often been discontinued in clinical

trials for particular cancer types, butmay still have

therapeutic use for other cancers. Access to these

compounds allows researchers to investigate how

di"erent drugs, or combinations of drugsmight

a"ect a range of cancer types.

Our collaboration with AstraZeneca has grown from a number of informal contactsand small projects in the area of oncology into a strong, mutually beneficialpartnership with a shared vision of delivering excellent science and applied researchacross a range of disciplines.

In 2006, the University of Manchester (UoM) and AstraZeneca formed a StrategicAlliance, one of only three such collaborations in Europe, designed to establish closerworking relationships in research, education, the application of scientific knowledgeand recruitment activities. The two organisations signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding that formalised this co-operation across the broad areas of chemistry,biology and engineering.

As well as building on its original oncology research, the partnership now covers jointresearch, staff and student support, and knowledge and resource sharing across anumber of areas including:

! Inflammation! Diabetes and obesity! Bioinformatics! Systems biology

! Computational chemistry! Synthetic chemistry! Analytical science! Imaging (clinical and pre-clinical)

WHATDOESASTRAZENECAGET FROMTHEPARTNERSHIP?! SCIENTIFIC INPUT FROM

WORLD-LEADINGRESEARCHERS

! SHAREDUSEOFADVANCEDEQUIPMENT,MATERIALSANDFACILITIES

! ACCESSTONEWTECHNIQUES,SKILLSANDMODELS

! ABILITY TODRAWONAWIDESCIENTIFICNETWORK,INCLUDINGNON-UOMSPECIALISTS

! INDUSTRYRELEVANTEDUCATIONANDTRAINING.

WHATDOWEGETFROMTHEPARTNERSHIP?! POTENTIAL TOTRANSLATE

CUTTING-EDGESCIENCEINTOHEALTHANDCOMMERCIAL BENEFITS

! SHAREDUSEOFADVANCEDEQUIPMENT,MATERIALSANDFACILITIES

! GUIDANCEONEDUCATIONANDPROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTPROGRAMMES

! GREATERUNDERSTANDINGOF INDUSTRY-SPECIFICKNOWLEDGEANDPRACTICES

! FUNDING FORSCIENTIFICSUPPORTPOSTSANDCLINICAL FELLOWSHIPS.

www.manchester.ac.uk/business

! Pharmaceutics andprocess engineering

THE BACKGROUNDInflammatory diseases affect millions of peopleworldwide, leading to pain, disability and, in somecases, premature death. To be able to treat thesediseases, researchers and drug companies need tounderstand the reasons why inflammation, one ofthe body’s normal beneficial healing mechanisms,can become chronic, leading to cellular damage,tissue destruction and painful symptomsthroughout the body.

THE CHALLENGETo translate basic research discoveries into new andimproved treatments that could potentially benefitthemillions of people worldwide affected bydiseases associated with chronic inflammation,such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatorybowel disease.

THE SOLUTIONThe opening of the Manchester CollaborativeCentre for Inflammation Research (MCCIR), aunique £15million collaboration between theUniversity of Manchester and two leading UKpharmaceutical companies, that aims to bringtogether scientists from industry and academia towork collaboratively on inflammation research andtranslational medicine.

The partnership with AstraZeneca andGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) allows us to combine ourown fundamental biomedical research with thedrug discovery, development andcommercialisation expertise within thepharmaceutical industry to ensure the fasterdelivery of effective medicines to patients acrossthe world.

THE IMPACTONASTRAZENECA:Reduced research costs through buying intotreatment pathways at the beginning of theprocess rather than simply testing end stageproducts; first refusal on licensing any innovationsthat develop as part of the partnership; openingup opportunities for new collaborations withUoM and GSK.

ONTHE UNIVERSITY:Giving our scientific research a clinical output,allowing us to contribute to the development ofnew therapies and improve patient outcomes;positioning UoM at the forefront of innovative andenterprising research into inflammatory diseases.

ON SOCIETY:The acceleration of new drug developments whichcould reduce the instance of potentially fatalinflammatory diseases worldwide.

MANCHESTER COLLABORATIVE CENTRE FOR INFLAMMATION RESEARCH

ThecreationofthenewCentre isindicativeofaneweraofpre-competitivesharingwithinthepharmaceuticalsectorandwithacademicscientists, tobringour learningtogethertoensurethefasterdeliveryofe!ectivemedicinestopatients.DRMENELAS PANGALOS,EXECUTIVEVICE-PRESIDENT INNOVATIVEMEDICINES,ASTRAZENECA

FORMORE INFORMATION... Please contact the BEST teamon: TEL: +44 (0) 161 275 2227 EMAIL: business@manchester.ac.uk

www.manchester.ac.uk/business