University of Nottingham Researchers Contribute to UK’s Hub for Advanced Long-acting Therapeutics
A new national research hub will position the UK as a world leader in the emerging global field of long-acting therapeutics (LATs).
A multidisciplinary team of experts from the University of Nottingham are part of The EPSRC Hub for Advanced Long-acting Therapeutics (HALo), which is led by the University of Liverpool. The new hub is supported with a £11 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and leverages a further £49.1 million in funding from partners.
HALo will drive research, public and patient engagement, and the translational infrastructure required for the development and manufacture of new LATs to ensure the UK is at the forefront of this strategically important healthcare area.
HALo is a national facility and involves key partners from Queens University Belfast and the Universities of Manchester and Nottingham, alongside the Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
It will be primarily hosted within the University of Liverpool’s Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT), the world’s first academic centre of excellence focussed on LATs.
LATs are set to revolutionise how we treat diseases and manage health conditions by replacing weeks or even months of pill taking with a single administered dose.
Already available in the fields of contraception, HIV therapy, and the management of mental health conditions, this new approach addresses the issue of missed daily drug doses which can cause a range of complications from a lack of efficacy to pathogen resistance.
LATs are a growing area of research globally, with pharmaceutical companies realising the benefits for clinical outcomes and patient well-being.
HALo will focus on understanding the physical science that underpins existing successful LAT medicines and use this knowledge to create new proof-of-concept LAT medicine candidates for diseases and conditions where no LAT option exists yet, such as high blood pressure and asthma.
The project aims to create a national strategy for translational LAT development to ensure a smooth pathway for future LAT candidates through to clinic as well as conducting the first UK-wide engagement with patients and the public to ensure meaningful and appropriate future research is driven by patient involvement with an understanding of needs and preferences.
A number of wider awareness activities and debates will position LAT technologies in a UK perspective to benefit and impact future public health.
Professor Steve Rannard, from the University of Liverpool’s Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT) and Department of Chemistry will lead HALo, which brings academics, industry and clinicians together with other stakeholders including patient groups and policy makers.
Professor Rannard said: “Long-acting therapeutics have the potential to simplify the administration of medicines, improve clinical outcomes and reduce the costs of healthcare provision.
“They are widely predicted to revolutionise disease treatment and healthcare management. HALo provides a much-needed focal point for new LAT developments in the UK and by working with partners it will ensure the UK is on the path to global leadership in this exciting new field.
The outcomes from HALo will have far-reaching benefits globally and also enable the CELT focus on low and middle-income country healthcare needs where LATs are expected to be transformational.”
The Nottingham team in the HALo hub brings together Professors Cameron Alexander, Snow Stolnik and Dr Maria Marlow in the School of Pharmacy with Professor Ruman Rahman in the School of Medicine, to develop new therapeutic agents and formulations for long-acting medicines. The initial focus will be on materials for tracking and treating conditions, including brain tumours, which currently lack good therapeutic outcomes. This will integrate strongly with the wider ethos of the Hub, which is to develop long-acting medicines for diseases poorly-served by existing medicines, and to advance entirely new therapeutic technologies.
This exciting new grant will enable researchers from across the HALo Hub to address some of the most pressing problems in healthcare. Patients and clinicians urgently seek better treatments, and formulations which can release therapeutics over sustained periods to optimise dose and reduce side-effects, offer real promise for the future
Professor Cameron Alexander, School of Pharmacy
HALo is one of five new healthcare hubs supported by a total investment of £54 million from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and an additional £64 million of cash and in-kind support.
The five new hubs aim to transform healthcare through the development and application of revolutionary new technologies.
These innovative technologies have the potential to improve patient care in the UK and around the world. By investing in this research, we are enabling scientists to develop life-changing technologies. By working closely with patients, healthcare professionals, engineers and industry partners, these advances can be translated into practical solutions that will improve the lives of people with age-related mobility issues, cancer, and other chronic conditions.
UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance
EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said: “The five new hubs bring together a wealth of expertise from across academia, industry and charities to improve population health, transform disease prediction and diagnosis, and accelerate the development of new interventions.
“They represent an exciting range of adventurous techniques and approaches that have great potential to improving the lives of millions of people here in the UK and across the world.”