We’re reducing development times for effective new drugs.
As the World Health Organisation report that each year over 11 million people are diagnosed with cancer and 33 million people worldwide are currently infected with HIV, the search for viable, effective and affordable treatments is a vital goal for the medical profession, researchers, scientists and drug companies in the 21st Century.
Finding new cures is expensive, time consuming and not without risk. Scientists searching for a new drug must sort through 5,000 to 10,000 new chemical inventions to identify a pool of 250 combinations. This is followed by preclinical laboratory testing and three phase trials: animal, human and patient.
The process from discovery and development of new cures can take up to 15 years. So how can the pharmaceutical industry rise to the challenge of producing new drugs that take less time and are more affordable to health services worldwide?
Earlier this year Avacta, a science company based in the Yorkshire and Humber region of the UK, launched an innovative laboratory instrument called Optim.
Designed to perform advanced biophysical analysis on small biological samples, this product enables drug developers to gain vital information about their compounds’ performance at an early stage. This means that research and development on drug combinations will take less time, and therefore lead to lower production costs.
This new technology delivers reduced late stage drug candidate attrition which improves final product properties and competitiveness. This saves time and money while helping innovators develop and protect new products and technologies.
With less chance of failure, more pharmaceutical companies can get vital drugs to market at a lower cost. This leads to two major benefits. Health authorities worldwide are more able to afford new drugs, and patients can expect a better prognosis and therefore survival rate.
Today Avacta are working to develop follow-on products that complement Optim to deliver a full ‘protein analysis workstation’ for drug developers.
The Yorkshire and Humber region, which attracts some £340 million in academic research is an ideal location for companies like Avacta. The region is home to 11 Centres of Industrial Collaboration which bridge the gap between academia and business, helping unlock cutting-edge technical expertise and specialist resources to drive innovation forward. One centre supporting the pharmaceutical industry is the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation at the University of Bradford. This flagship research facility is dedicated to supporting innovation in drug development and drug delivery.
The region has one of the fastest growing healthcare technology sectors in the UK, offering excellent access to clinical trial research collaborations. It is home to over 10,000 industry specialists and over 400 healthcare technology businesses.,
As well as nine universities offering world-renowned expertise, the region has the largest concentration of orthopaedic companies in the UK and is home to Europe’s largest cancer treatment centre.
As terminal diseases such as cancer and HIV continue to take millions of lives across the world, imposing a heavy burden on families, communities and economies worldwide, the Yorkshire and Humber region provides an ideal location for companies looking for innovative solutions to find treatments and cures.
Our role is to support foreign owned businesses who wish to set up operations in the Yorkshire and Humber region of the UK. For more information on what service and support we can offer click here or to contact us now click here.