Scotland’s new partnerships and cutting-edge drug discovery research to be highlighted at prestigious U.S. conference
Showcase of Scottish life sciences innovation at Atlanta’s BIO 2009 Conference to reveal major advances in the sector for Scotland
Scottish life sciences organisations are set to reveal commercial success and major scientific advancements at the prestigious BIO 2009 Conference, the largest global event in the biotech industry, taking place this week in Atlanta. A Scottish delegation of more than 30 organisations will be highlighting research collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotech companies in stem cells, drug discovery, translational medicine, medical technology and preclinical and clinical research.
Scotland currently has one of the largest and fastest-growing life science clusters in Europe, with more than 620 life sciences organisations and 31,000 employees. Possible explanations for the Scottish life sciences preeminence include its internationally-renowned universities, a rich talent base and its historical scientific legacy.
On Wednesday, a panel session on ‘The Ubiquitin Story’, put together by The Scottish Institute for Cell Signaling (SCILLS), ITI Life Sciences, Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprises will be presented by leading Scottish scientists and other prominent figures from around the world. Ubiquitin is an exciting new research area that has the potential to create a breakthrough in the fight against cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases. Scotland has been a significant early investor in Ubiquitin technology through the $15M Scottish Institute for Cell Signaling (SCILLS) and the $14M ITI Life Sciences drug discovery Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) R&D programme.
SCILLS has a dedicated protein ubiquitination unit with the aim of advancing understanding of the role of protein ubiquitination and related modifications in cell regulation and human disease. The four year ITI Life Sciences UPS programme aims to develop the next generation of drug discovery targets, and involves scientists from The University of Edinburgh, The University of Glasgow, The University of Strathclyde, Millipore (based in Dundee) and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
Leading figures in the life sciences field will be participating in the prestigious BIO 2009 panel session. They include Sir Philip Cohen, from the University of Dundee’s and Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit, world-renowned biochemist and newly inducted member of the U.S. National Academy of Science, whose leadership in developing protein kinases as key drug targets has paved the way for many of the leading oncology (malignant tumour) therapies available to patients today. Additionally, Professor Mike Tyers from the University of Edinburgh and Director of the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA), along with industry experts from around the world, will offer a scientific, business and investment perspective on the potential of this area to become the next generation of biopharmaceutical drug targets.
“In these challenging times, Scotland’s world-class talent, high-tech infrastructure and commitment to cross-sector collaboration provide a rich and innovative environment for life sciences investors,” said Rhona Allison, Senior Director, Life Sciences, Scottish Enterprise. “Major capital investments such as the new Edinburgh BioQuarter and the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine - led by Professor Sir Ian Wilmut – are just two examples of how Scotland is helping companies bring novel technologies and products to market.”
Session Details:
Session Title: Where to Find the Drugs: The Ubiquitin System Components, are they the next generation Kinases?
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Time: 10:00am to 11:30am
Location: B304, Georgia World Congress Centre (Building B)
The session is brought together by The MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit, the Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling (SCILLS) and ITI Life Sciences and is supported by Scottish Development International.
For further information, interviews or photography from ITI Life Sciences please contact:
Anna Edmond / Jamie Henderson
Firefly Communications
0131 553 0150
anna.edmond@fireflycomms.com / james.henderson@fireflycomms.com
BIO International Convention
The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry and attracts the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities, and provides insights and inspiration on major trends affecting the industry.
The Convention in Atlanta will be a "can't miss event" for reporters covering all aspects of the biotechnology and life sciences industries, including investments, policy, state initiatives and economic development, and the international marketplace.
About ITI Life Sciences
Creating real possibilities for life sciences in Scotland.
ITI Life Sciences is committed to making brilliant ideas a commercial reality.
We commission trailblazing research and development programmes to generate market-driven, commercially-focused business opportunities in the life sciences sector.
Our extensive research of global markets identifies future commercial opportunities and drives the formation of innovative R&D programmes. These programmes design, develop and deliver platform technologies and enable the formation of new products and services to address emerging market opportunities.
The result is a portfolio of commercially valuable, cutting-edge intellectual assets, which are owned and exploited by ITI for the benefit of the Scottish economy. These assets are licensed to new and existing organisations and stimulate the formation of start-up and spin-out companies.
ITI Life Sciences is part of ITI Scotland, which also includes ITI Techmedia and ITI Life Energy.
About SCILLS
The Scottish Institute for ceLL Signalling (SCILLS) is a new research centre funded by the Scottish Government, which was launched on October 1st 2008. SCILLS is dedicated to understanding how biological processes are controlled and how they become deregulated in disease, with the long-term aim of facilitating the development of improved drugs to treat disease. Further information can be found at www.scills.ac.uk
About Philip Cohen and the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit
Philip Cohen received his B.Sc (1966) and Ph.D (1969) from University College London and then spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.with Edmond Fischer (the 1992 Nobel Laureate for Medicine or Physiology). In 1971 he returned to the UK to become a Faculty member at the University of Dundee, Scotland where he has worked ever since. Philip has been a Royal Society Research Professor since 1984, Director of the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit since its inception in 1990, and is the Honorary President of the British Biochemical Society from 2006-2008. Philip is also the founder and Co-Director of the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy (DSTT) the UK’s largest collaboration between a basic research institution and the pharmaceutical industry. It is widely regarded as a model for how industry and academia should interact, for which it received a Queen’s Anniversary Award for Higher Education in 2006.
For the past 40 years, Philip’s research has been devoted to studying the role of protein phosphorylation in cell regulation and human disease, a process that controls almost all aspects of cell life. His contributions to this area, include working out over a 25 year period how insulin stimulates the synthesis of glycogen in muscle. Currently his laboratory is working on the signalling pathways that regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and interferons during bacterial and viral infection, research that is aimed at understanding how the uncontrolled production of these substances causes chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and septic shock.