25.09.19
Cancer Research UK to support innovation through entrepreneurship
Cancer Research UK has chosen to support entrepreneurship within the science industry today in an announcement of new partnerships with Deep Science Ventures and Panacea.
These are the first initiatives of their type for the charity, which aims to promote the development of new business ventures by providing researchers with the tools to translate their research.
The collaboration, Entrepreneurial Programmes Initiative, will provide support and education to researchers at the start of their career and champion innovation within the cancer research community that could one day benefit patients.
Tony Hickson, Cancer Research UK’s chief business officer, said: “Our new Entrepreneurial Programmes Initiative is a first for Cancer Research UK, with our aim being to drive entrepreneurship in cancer research, transforming more ideas into lifesaving medicines for patients.”
“With the extensive expertise and guidance of our new partners, we can nurture a new generation of scientific entrepreneurs and encourage innovation at the interface of academia and industry.”
Cancer Research UK will co-fund a one-year programme with each of the two companies, during which time researchers are invited to explore areas of oncology in need of translational progress.
Once a promising idea has been acknowledged, a team with the knowledge and expertise to develop a solution with be formed. The idea then is to progress the idea before receiving funding to perform proof of concept work and successful groups may form spin-outs.
The programme will allow for maximum idea generation and minimal funding necessary until they are in the advanced stage.
These two initiatives are open to all UK researchers, both individuals, teams and early stage companies.
It’s hoped that these partnerships will encourage researchers to translate their research into the medicines and diagnostics of tomorrow, all the while supporting Cancer Research UK’s ambition to see three out of four cancer patients surviving their illness by 2034.
Innovation Summits are to be hosted across the UK, as a way to connect like-minded scientist and researchers. The next summit will take place on 7 October 2019 in Manchester, and will focus on the barriers in translating research and how to overcome them.