A patient’s perspective on using samples and data for research
What factors encourage patients to donate clinical samples and data for research? I think there are several factors that encourage patients to donate samples. Data is a slightly separate issue, but together they come down to the three things we already know from surveys about why patients participate in research: Firstly we want to benefit […]
Building an ecosystem to support data-driven health startups
The UK is in an excellent position to establish a world-leading position in the field of data-driven health. Technologies such as machine learning, computer vision, and neural networks will accelerate drug discovery by measuring and characterising target engagement, validating targets in translatable cell models, improving our understanding of drugs, disease and drug-target interactions within patients. […]
Writing a winning grant application
Bidding for grants and funding can be a very frustrating, tiresome and demoralising process. Hours can be wasted putting pen to paper, just so your dreams can be shattered months later after “so-called” experts and faceless bureaucrats tear your hard work apart. Of course, this is all part of the democratic process required to justify […]
On-demand sampling
The majority of biobank samples are collected as surgical excess, diagnostic remnants or post mortem tissue. While all of these sources are extremely valuable, they each have limitations. Surgical excess and diagnostic samples come from diseased patients, often cancer donors, and the closest to a ‘normal’ sample is adjacent tissue – that is, tissue obtained […]
Virtual Biobanks
Virtual biobanks do not store samples but provide a single point of access to a range of biospecimens using networks of ethical sources. They source tissues to client specifications – thereby streamlining the procurement of tissue to the benefit of all parties. Real and virtual biobanks have a two-way relationship that works to the advantage […]
The rise of Biobanks
High quality human tissue samples have become the gold standard for biomedical research, and reliable access to such material is a critical resource for many companies. In addition, the rapid growth of translational research and personalised medicine has further increased demand for human biological samples. Biobanking has been identified as a key area to accelerate […]
Patients band together to develop their own drugs
A real-world case study to set the scene Timothy Omer is a Type 1 diabetic and a ‘health hacker’. He, and others affected by this debilitating condition, have banded together under the #WeAreNotWaiting banner to develop their own solutions to their health issues. They have lost patience with an industry apparently failing to find answers […]
Keeping secrets in drug discovery
SMEs in the life sciences sector are the lifeblood of new innovations. If that’s you, it means that some of your most valuable assets will be your intellectual property and know-how. Most likely, you will have inventions which you are looking to patent, and other key confidential information. Inventions It is important to keep your […]
Putting the human back into medicines discovery
Is there something missing from your research? The need to humanise drug discovery was highlighted in the State of the Discovery Nation report. This is not surprising given that from the 63% of drugs that pass Phase I safety, only 31% pass Phase II human proof of concept and only 50% pass on through Phase […]