University wins support for out of the box ideas
Research into new drugs at the University has been boosted by government money. The University has been successful in obtaining grants totalling £1M from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to support research into new medicines.
Professor Andrew Tobin (pictured), Director of the Leicester Drug Discovery and Diagnostics Centre, said: "This money will go directly into our front line projects aimed at developing drugs that protect the heart during a heart attack and developing novel treatments for cancer.”
Professor Philip Baker, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Medical School at the University, added: “It is terrific that the government is willing to support drug discovery at Leicester. We have some of the world’s best scientists developing new medicines – with this funding we aim to bring new treatments to a range of illnesses from cardiovascular disease through to cancers such as lung and colon cancer.”
The Leicester Drug Discovery and Diagnostics Centre at the University of Leicester is a specialised centre dedicated to the development of new medicines. The Centre has links with many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca. With highly trained staff and state-of-the-art research infrastructure the Centre is designed to progress the basic research projects conducted at the University into new medicines and treatments for patients.
The MRC is making a total of £23.3m awards of which Leicester has been successful in securing £1M in Confidence in Concept and Proximity to Discovery awards. The MRC is accelerating innovative medical research with funding to take ground-breaking ideas from UK universities into industry and out to patients.