̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Nigel Slater

Strategic partner: AstraZeneca

skbf2 — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 16:20:03 +0000

Scientists at AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, have been working with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� for more than two decades. What are the secrets of their success?

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge breaks its early stage investment record for third consecutive year

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 09:32:29 +0000

This new funding follows another successful year highlighted by the exit of X01 Limited, the developer of ichorcumab, an anticoagulant antibody with the potential to save millions of lives that was sold to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. During this period, the ̽��ֱ�� received £3.7 million from realised investments.

̽��ֱ��investment funds will move forward the progress of PhoreMost, a new-model drug discovery company that aims to develop drugs against targets previously thought to be ‘undruggable,’ Z-factor Limited, a drug discovery company created to identify and develop therapeutic agents to treat alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (one common manifestation of which is emphysema), Quethera, a gene therapy start-up developing a treatment for glaucoma that could prevent associated blindness, Cytora, a pioneer in the field of risk analysis technology and Reduse, whose cutting-edge ‘unprinter’ technology removes print from paper, dramatically cutting C02 emissions compared to recycling by reducing the need for pulping, heating and chemicals.

“This record year for the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Seed Funds is particularly pleasing since it underscores the immense emphasis that the ̽��ֱ�� places on innovation for the benefit of society across a wide range of scientific and technical endeavours,” said Professor Nigel Slater, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Regional Affairs.

Cambridge Enterprise, the ̽��ֱ��’s commercialisation arm, which is this year celebrating its 21st anniversary of ̽��ֱ�� investment, manages two evergreen seed funds on the ̽��ֱ��’s behalf. Cambridge Enterprise also advises the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Enterprise Fund (UCEF), a combined Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) fund, which enables alumni and friends of the ̽��ֱ�� to support Cambridge spin-outs while benefitting from generous tax incentives.

This was the fourth year of operation for the Enterprise Fund, which was announced as part of the SEIS programme in the government’s 2012 budget, established to stimulate economic growth. UCEF III has invested £1.7 million across eight companies in a period of 18 months. ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� is raising its fourth Enterprise Fund in February.

In addition to the Enterprise Fund, the ̽��ֱ�� has approximately £16 million in seed funds available for investment. Through Cambridge Enterprise, the funds can provide pre-seed or seed funding.

Cambridge Enterprise Seed Funds provides links to management and sources of further funding. ̽��ֱ�� portfolio companies have gone on to raise more than £1.4 billion in follow-on funding.

For the third consecutive year, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has broken its early stage investment record, approving 13 seed fund investments for a total of £3.8 million, an increase on the £3.2 million invested in 2013-14.

This record year for the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Seed Funds is particularly pleasing since it underscores the immense emphasis that the ̽��ֱ�� places on innovation for the benefit of society across a wide range of scientific and technical endeavours

Nigel Slater

Cambridge Enterprise - #nextgreatidea

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Topping out for West Cambridge building

th288 — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 10:40:20 +0000

̽��ֱ��main contractor Morgan Sindall hosted the event at the ̽��ֱ��’s West Cambridge site, where the state-of-the-art laboratory is being built. ̽��ֱ��event marked the completion of the concrete frame and roof - key milestones in the £60 million project, which is due to be handed over in June 2015.

̽��ֱ��dignitaries attending included the Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ��, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Professor Lynn Gladden and Angus Stephen, Director of Operations for the ̽��ֱ��'s Estate Management.

̽��ֱ��CEB will be used to promote collaboration and interdisciplinary working among research groups, researchers and students.

̽��ֱ��project follows the merger of the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Institute of Biotechnology. They are presently located in separate buildings in Cambridge city centre and need room for growth. ̽��ֱ��departments have outstanding reputations in the fields of chemistry, physics, mathematics, clinical medicine and biology.

̽��ֱ��new building is the first to facilitate collaboration between undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers through the whole cycle of scientific investigation.

Professor Nigel Slater, Head of Department, said; “Since last year the Department has followed the building progress through the CCTV-internet link and our excitement has grown steadily as it has sprouted ever upwards. We appreciate that the diverse research and teaching activities of the Department, and the specialised facilities that these require, make the building extremely complex yet we have been amazed by the pace of progress. Our excitement is heightened by today’s topping out ceremony, and we are grateful for what has been achieved on the project to date.”

Bob Ensch, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: “ ̽��ֱ��Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Building is a landmark project for the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and will add further to its international reputation for learning and research in this field. ̽��ֱ��project team is working well with all of the stakeholders involved, and it’s a privilege to bring our construction expertise to bear on such a significant scheme.”

̽��ֱ��CEB was designed by BDP architects, with a project team that includes Ramboll UK as civil and structural engineers and Hoare Lea as services engineers.

̽��ֱ��CEB will feature a wide range of biological laboratories to Bio Safety Levels Two and Three, cleanrooms, sensitive laser, optics and imaging laboratories, a Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, materials and processes laboratories and an undergraduate teaching laboratory.

̽��ֱ��undergraduate teaching facilities support these laboratories through dedicated spaces that include two 120-seat lecture theatres, a postgraduate open plan researcher write-up space, and academic and administrative offices.

It stands on the ̽��ֱ��’s West Cambridge site which covers 66-hectares between the M11 motorway, Madingley Road, and Clerk Maxwell Road. ̽��ֱ��site is already home to the renowned Cavendish Laboratories and the British Antarctic Survey.

To watch a video made on the occasion click here

Progress on the new home for the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB) has been celebrated with a traditional topping-out ceremony.

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Single component biology is past; bioengineering has begun

bjb42 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:36:26 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has become increasingly aware of the major importance of recent advances at the interface between the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering. A key challenge is to assist the evolution of the established reductionist ‘molecular’ view of biology into a more quantitative, data-rich and predictive science, with an holistic and integrative understanding of its principles.

Research activities are crossing disciplines in efforts to address complex biological systems and provide technical solutions to current and emerging global concerns. Researchers are using new tools in predictive biology and synthetic biology for bio-product design – seeking to go beyond the analysis of enzymes, metabolic networks and cells to consider functionality and delivery as intimately linked elements of the design process. Developments in Cambridge are breaking new ground in biomechanics, tissue engineering and biomimetics: from strategies for restoring function to the damaged nervous system, to next-generation medical implants that interact therapeutically with the body, to the development of mechanically robust bone-like materials for engineering purposes.

̽��ֱ��need to integrate expertise in multidisciplinary research environments is well recognised in Cambridge, and 2008 sees the launch of two new research complexes. ̽��ֱ��Centre for the Physics of Medicine at the West Cambridge Site brings together researchers from the medical, biological and physical sciences to solve problems in healthcare and cell biology; and the Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus provides a link between stem cell biologists, tissue engineers and clinicians for translating fundamental stem cell research to clinical benefits.

Systems biology also describes a multi-component approach, combining theoretical modelling with real data about the interaction between genes and their products. Arising from this is the need to interpret large datasets of complex biological information. ̽��ֱ��recently launched Cambridge Systems Biology Centre is enabling research groups from different disciplines to interact closely and develop a long-lasting multidisciplinary research environment.

Professor Nigel Slater, from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, describes how the influx of ideas and principles from non-biological disciplines is shaping a new biology.

Research activities are crossing disciplines in efforts to address complex biological systems and provide technical solutions to current and emerging global concerns.

Amy Loves Yah from Flickr

Bio Lab

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