Please find below examples of some of the services we have already provided:

Case Study 1: Reagent Supply Company, based in the North West

CPS met with the company to discuss their business strategy moving forward, in relation to the types of opportunities that it was looking to attract. On the back of this discussion, CPS was able to facilitate through its network of contacts, a licensing meeting with a major US based technology and tools provider in the research and Pharmaceuticals sector. The company has now successfully completed signature of a distribution agreement that will ultimately lead to considerable sales for the company. The CPS continues to work with this company in order to assist with marketing and sales opportunities. 

Case Study 2: Clinical Research Organisation, based in North West

CPS has discussed with this company ways in which the company could extend its marketing capability in order to increase revenue generation. The CPS has exposed this company to its array of SME’s within the network that will ultimately lead to extra income generation. 

Case Study 3: Technology Based Company, based in North West

This company recently contacted the CPS with a view to reviewing the company’s business plan and strategy moving forwards. This has resulted in the identification of further opportunities for a development of the current product, for the Life Sciences Market. The CPS is now involved with trying to identify additional contacts and collaborators locally, in both University and local SME’s with a view to planning a development program for the technology in the Life Science sector. CPS has also identified a local company that may be able to assist with an investor appraisal report on the technology against market opportunity. 

Case Study 4: Drug Discovery Company, based in North West

Following meetings with the CPS, the company is planning to apply for local funds in order to complement internal funds for further development work, within its drug discovery program. Although the company routinely outsources globally, it has a better appreciation of local contacts and services available that hopefully will lead to collaboration with University and SME’s locally.

Case Study 5: Computational Discovery Company, based in North West

A CPS meeting with this company provided advice which has helped them to progress key projects at a very early stage of the company’s formation. Assistance included identifying specific target molecules to help validate their structural technology software and highlighting proprietary information which could provide additional valuable information on structures. The CPS has also identified key contacts in the biotech and pharmaceutical field for both collaborative and marketing purposes, and continues to help them to grow their business network in the NW and beyond.

Additional Case Studies:

Project 1: Oncology Target

A group of researchers in the Department of Medicine at the University of Manchester has been developing a new biological target for drug discovery in the Oncology field.
Research from the Hampson Group (Ian and Lynne) at St. Mary’s Hospital Manchester led to their discovery of novel properties of a human protein. This indicated that the protein might provide a novel drug intervention point for the prevention of human cancer.

The project assisted by providing advice on proceeding with more detailed structural studies on the protein. These were required as a prelude to drug design. To this end, contact was established with Prof. Lu-Yun Lian (a leading structural biochemist). This led to the cancer group collaborating with Prof. Yun Lian to solve the structure of the protein. The work is currently ongoing.


Project 2: Potential new drug target for inflammatory diseases

The team has assisted the University of Liverpool to add value to a potential new drug target for inflammatory diseases

Rheumatoid arthritis, the largest potentially modifiable cause of disability in the Western World, is caused by a profound inflammatory response in synovial joints in which neutrophils play a crucial role. Current therapies using conventional medications are poor, both with respect to efficacy and side-effects. The development of new biologic therapies has provided improved efficacy, but costs of manufacture and delivery are high and there are real concerns that long-term therapy with these agents will result in compromised protection against infections and neoplasms.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have achieved selective inhibition of a neutrophil receptor that plays no role in host defence against infection, but a key role in immune-complex mediated damage. This opens up the possibility of an attractive new drug target for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory disease per se. Having protected the discovery by patent, the team needed to build a portfolio of information to interest potential licensees. Knowing that drug companies are particularly keen to have orally active small molecules, a Medicinal Chemistry team in Manchester was contracted to perform in silico screening of the target to determine potential sites for drug interaction and identify of a list of suitable ligands from known compound databases. The team was able to supply a ranked list of ligands for testing in the cell-based screen in Liverpool to identify suitable drug leads, thus allowing a more attractive licensing package to be built up.

The contract was completed on time and to budget.

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 Project 3: Anti-viral and anti-infective biologically usable compounds 

A group from the Department of Optometry and Neuroscience has discovered some novel lead peptides, based on parts of human proteins, and which have exciting anti-viral and anti-infective properties. Prof. Ken Douglas, on behalf of Chemistry Partnering Service, has been able to assist at several stages in planning the move to more drug-like entities, and how to focus the leads into biologically usable compounds, for example in how to plan and make use of targeted compound libraries, and to use high-level computational chemistry. Both of these ends were achieved by setting up collaborations with specialist laboratories with appropriate expertise. In addition Chemistry Partnering Service has been interacting with and advising the Manchester Technology Fund to help evaluate progress and the best route to move closer to commercial proof-of-concept.

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Project 4: Heparinase enzymology and ligand development 

Chemistry Partnering Service was called in to provide specific medicinal chemistry advice during negotiations about potential development of a particular project between a Pharma Company and the University of Manchester / Paterson Laboratories in the fields of heparinase enzymology and ligand development

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Project 5: New imaging system that would be used to monitor kidney dialysis patients 

The Chemistry Partnering Service was approached about a project aiming to develop a new imaging system that would be used to monitor kidney dialysis patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Assistance was required on formulations for dialysis fluid, in particular in the use of polymer-based bead types. Chemistry Partnering Service put the project in contact with an academic group in the University of Manchester School of Pharmacy, who provided advice and assistance. The project is now focussing more on the biochemistry and physiology issues related to developing appropriate imaging agents in this field.

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