Medicines Discovery Catapult - work on the Neurodegeneration Initiative (NI) of the UK Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission
Landscape of key technologies and stakeholders working on diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases
The Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization established by Innovate UK to reshape and accelerate drug discovery in the United Kingdom.
They recently were appointed as key Delivery Partner for the set-up of the Neurodegeneration Initiative (NI) of the UK Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission. The NI is envisaged to be a new independent partnership that will co-design and co-invest in the strategy for the Dementia Mission, by engaging international industry and nationwide stakeholders.
I was contracted by MDC to conduct a scientific landscape of neurodegeneration diagnostic technologies across three modalities: fluid, imaging and digital biomarkers. During the project, I:
Identified key researchers and companies that had published, patented or obtained funding in the UK to research biomarkers of neurodegeneration. The results of this work were drafted into a paper for the Dementia Mission Scientific Advisory Board.
Mapped out key national and international stakeholders doing work on biomarkers at different stages of development – from novel discovery to clinical implementation.
Helped define potential scientific outcomes that the Neurodegeneration Initiative could deliver in partnership with industry. These fed into pitches to industry partners and the industry expression-of-interest process.
Throughout the project I worked in very close collaborations internally with colleagues from MDC, and externally with colleagues at the Office for Life Sciences (OLS). I actively engaged with the Dementia Mission’s Funding Partners (OLS, Medical Research Council, and Innovate UK), and participated in meetings with key senior figures in the UK’s dementia research landscape and industry members.
This project exemplifies the critical role of collaborative, multidisciplinary work in advancing research efforts to deliver positive results for patients. By conducting a data-driven landscape analysis and helping bring together key stakeholders across academia, industry, and government, this work has contributed towards laying a robust foundation for the Neurodegeneration Initiative, and to set stage for long-term advancements in diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative diseases in the UK.