AstraZeneca, Imperial College London Announce Research Collaboration, to Investigate Drivers of Respiratory Diseases
AstraZeneca and Imperial College London have now partnered up to work on basic scientific mechanisms and underlying the drivers of respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The focus of the three-year collaboration will be on mechanisms related to inflammation, neuropharmacology, and lung irritancy.
The work will be co-led by Dr Mark Birrell, Senior Science Director, AstraZeneca who is a renowned expert in pre-clinical respiratory pharmacology, and Professor Teresa Tetley at Imperial College London. AstraZeneca will locate scientists at Imperial College London, where the company will also fund additional research roles in the respiratory pharmacology group. The initial collaboration will run for three years, beginning in January 2018, with the potential to be extended.
Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London, said: “This latest collaboration with AstraZeneca is another great opportunity to combine the expertise of a leading university and an outstanding corporation, which could have real benefits for people living with respiratory health conditions.”
Dr Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, IMED Biotech Unit and Business Development, AstraZeneca, says: “We are delighted to build on our existing collaborations with Imperial College London as a recognised world leader in respiratory science. Open research environments across industry and academia are of mutual benefit and the collaboration exemplifies how our groups can push the boundaries of science. I have no doubt this will be a highly productive collaboration to help us turn great science into innovative medicines for patients with debilitating respiratory diseases.
”Professor Maria Belvisi, Vice President and Head of Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmunity (RIA) at AstraZeneca and Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology at Imperial College London, said: “I am proud to represent both AstraZeneca and Imperial College London. By building on the strengths of both organisations with fully integrated teams, we aim to accelerate ground-breaking research into the development of new medicines to help address unmet treatment needs in respiratory disease.”
