Imperial welcomed over a dozen leading companies and research programmes from the Canadian biomanufacturing sector on Monday 26 February.

The visit provided companies an opportunity to hear about some of the leading healthcare research undertaken at Imperial, and follows from a Memorandum of Cooperation between the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada, signed in June 2023. The MoC committed to collaboration and joint development of the critical products each country needs for pandemic preparedness and to respond to the next healthcare emergency.

Under the MoC, Innovate UK and the National Research Council of Canada launched a joint call to invest up to £3.5 million in innovation products. A similar joint funding call is expected to be launched in May 2024.

Paul McVeigh, Industrial Technology Advisor and Bio-Sector UK Lead at the National Research Council of Canada introduced the session, highlighting numerous opportunities in technology development and sustainable innovation and the history of collaboration between Canada and the UK.

There followed introductions from the Canadian delegates, representatives of companies, spinouts from top Canadian universities, and not-for-profits at the forefront of biomanufacturing innovation. Technologies under the spotlight included a hydrogel therapeutics delivery platform, AI and ML-driven drug discovery techniques for protein and peptide therapeutics, and vaccine development platforms.

Eight Imperial academics, drawn from the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine and Natural Sciences then gave scientific presentations covering a broad range of impactful research programmes from across the university. These were:

• Professor Uta Griesenbach, Faculty of Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, who spoke about the development of gene therapies for cystic fibrosis and other respiratory conditions;
• Professor Ramesh Wigneshweraraj, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, who talked about Imperial’s convergence science approach to anti-microbial resistance;
• Dr Richard Kelwick, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, who covered research into developing extracellular vesicles as a delivery platform for therapeutics and diagnostic agents;
• Professor Robin Shattock, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, who discussed the range of vaccine research at Imperial, spanning from early discovery through to late stage clinical trials, centred on the Future Vaccines Manufacturing Research Hub;
• Professor Paul Kellam, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Disease, who spoke about virus genomics and the impact of sequencing technology on understanding host-pathogen interactions;
• Dr Nick Moser, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who presented on rapid point-of-care diagnostics and startup ProtonDx;
• Professor Sophia Yaliraki, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, who detailed Imperial’s approach to pioneering and normalising the use of AI for chemical research and the initiatives DigiFab, AIChemy and I-X; and
• Professor Cleo Kontoravdi, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, who spoke about the engineering biology group and their extensive industry interactions.

Beyond the advanced techniques and promising research areas covered in each presentation, a common theme of convergence and collaboration emerged, with speakers referencing an extensive network of colleagues, industry interactions and co-location opportunities that have driven and enabled their investigations. Imperial’s White City Campus was highlighted as a site of permeability between industry and research, supported by advanced facilities and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Three startups – Alveogene, ProtonDx and RQ Biotechnology – were represented by Imperial’s speakers. These businesses, respectively working on inhaled gene therapies, rapid, portable point of care diagnostics, and broad spectrum mAbs for instant immunity, are demonstrative of the innovation ecosystem across Imperial and the close relationship between research and impact.

Dr Alex Skeaping, Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation Executive, said: “We were delighted to welcome such a broad range of representatives from Canada’s bioscience sector and facilitate introduction to some of the Imperial researchers driving the next generation of treatments and techniques in gene therapy, antimicrobial resistance, vaccine platforms – and much more. Industry collaboration is an essential component of academic discovery and we hope to continue to support these relationships to drive impactful science.”

A further funding call is expected to be launched by Innovate UK and the National Research Council of Canada in May 2024. The aim of the joint call will be to stimulate the development of innovative biomanufacturing technologies, build technical capabilities for the next generation of vaccines and therapeutics, and enable the UK and Canada to be well-positioned to respond to future health emergencies.

Imperial researchers interested in applying for the call are encouraged to being exploratory discussion with SMEs. In addition, a virtual matchmaking platform has been launched to link businesses and organisations in Canada and the UK looking to collaborate and work together in the field of biomanufacturing of biologics and advanced therapies.

Those looking for support in the process are encouraged to contact Imperial Enterprise’s Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation team.