Pharmaceuticals and universities provide £40m fund for translational research

The Apollo Therapeutics Fund offers Imperial academics and partners a new opportunity to drive forward therapeutic innovation.

The collaboration between companies and technology transfer offices has established a fund of £40 million - supporting the  translation of outstanding academic science into innovative new medicines for a wide range of diseases, from cancer to infectious diseases. The consortium behind the Fund consists of AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and Imperial Innovations, Cambridge Enterprise and UCL Business – the technology transfer offices responsible for commercialising the research from Imperial College London, UCL and the University of Cambridge respectively. The Fund is open to applications from academics based in the three universities behind the participating technology transfer offices. 

Professor James Stirling, Provost at Imperial College London, said: “Translating our research into benefits for health and society is at the core of Imperial’s mission. This fund offers support to our academics as they realise the impact of their research in improvements to health and well-being – one of the global challenges that our Strategy 2015-20 seeks to address.” 

Projects will be assessed by an independent team of ex-industry scientists who will work with the universities and their technology transfer offices to identify and shape projects to bring forward for development. Imperial academics have the opportunity to benefit not just from the early stage funding, but also from the active participation of the industry partners and their commercial drug development expertise.

Tony Hickson, Managing Director Technology Transfer, Imperial Innovations, said: "We are delighted to be at the heart of this truly ground-breaking consortium which we believe will significantly increase the pace at which novel academic research is translated from laboratories to patients.

“This an important new source of capital to progress IP from the outstanding research of these three world-class universities. We believe that the Apollo Therapeutics Fund will ultimately lead to the delivery of new medicines faster and cheaper, as well as generating new deal flow and licensing opportunities.”

Applications for funding will be made via the respective technology transfer office. Imperial academics who are interested in applying can access further information online.