Cambridge is one of the largest clinical research environments in the UK. It brings together research excellence (both within the University and in the world-leading research institutes on its doorstep), the NHS and a determinedly entrepreneurial spirit. More than 450 life sciences and healthcare businesses are based here, including global giants such as AstraZeneca as well as a whole host of start-ups and spin-outs bringing new ideas to market. It is an inspiring environment to be a part of, one where academics, clinicians, businesses and patients can come together to deliver enormous benefits to society.
As the Sector Manager for Healthcare in the Strategic Partnerships Office, I have two main aims: to ensure that the University is working with the right external partners to make a positive difference to people’s lives and to work with colleagues across the University to develop a joined-up approach to working with business.
My role is a relatively new one. I joined the Strategic Partnerships Office in July 2020 – mid-pandemic – but we are already making good progress, having carried out extensive consultation with industry partners and across the University to identify shared research priorities (see below) as well as building – and communicating - a clearer picture of our unique strengths.
Cambridge's life sciences research priorities
New developments
These days, healthcare is not just about life sciences. AI, big data and other technologies are an increasingly important part of the picture. Cambridge, with its strengths in technology and the physical sciences is well placed to make advances where these disciplines intersect with life sciences and we are seeing a number of new initiatives designed to foster these new kinds of collaboration.
Connect: Health Tech is a great example. It was set up as a University Enterprise Zone in 2019 with funding from Research England with the aim of building inter-disciplinary bridges between medicine and technology. It is about to launch a new online collaboration space where the Cambridge life and physical sciences ecosystems – researchers, clinicians, investors, big companies, start-ups and funders – can come together to share new ideas and opportunities and make it easier for businesses outside of Cambridge to engage with our community. Watch this space for more information!
Another interdisciplinary collaboration with huge potential is the Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine (CCAIM), a partnership between the University, AstraZeneca and GSK which brings together Cambridge academics and clinicians, expertise in machine learning, engineering, mathematics, medicine, computer science, genetics, computational biology, biostatistics, clinical research, healthcare policy and more. These experts are working closely with industry scientists and leaders to identify major challenges in drug discovery and development that can be solved through cutting-edge academic research.
The importance of partnerships
Both Connect: Health Tech and CCAIM are about making connections between both individuals and organisations. However brilliant a scientific or technological breakthrough, it can only have a significant impact on people’s lives if it is put into practice by organisations with global reach.
My role is to help create the conditions in which such collaborations can flourish. We already have longstanding strategic partnerships with AstraZeneca and GSK which have taken many Cambridge ideas from bench to bedside – and which we hope will continue to do so for years to come. We are also delighted to work with many other leading life science companies including Johnson & Johnson, Astex and Shionogi.
Alongside its ‘conventional’ research partnerships, the University is also developing new models of industry collaboration by bringing together different companies to work together pre-competitively on early drug discovery challenges. The first of these partnerships is underway, exploring autophagy and its possible role in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Collaboration and COVID-19
If anything, COVID-19, has only served to reinforce the importance of collaboration. Together with AstraZeneca and GSK, the University rapidly established a new state-of-the-art laboratory as part of the UK’s network of testing centres. This involved hundreds of people from all three organisations - and the local community - in a remarkable display of how cross-sector partnerships can solve complex healthcare challenges.
The UK’s world-leading genome sequencing capability is also testament to the power of collaboration. The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, led by Professor Sharon Peacock and run out of the University of Cambridge, involves Public Health Agencies, numerous other universities, the Wellcome Sanger Institute and diagnostic laboratory partners. It was set up early in the pandemic to deliver large-scale genome sequencing of COVID-19. Its researchers, together with Public Health England, were the first to discover that a variant first detected in Kent was quickly becoming dominant in the UK and elsewhere.
Supporting researchers
Internally, we are also taking steps to strengthen our collaborative capabilities. One of the recommendations emerging from our strategic review is to establish Translational and Industry Champions, academics in key disciplines who are interested in seeing the clinical benefits of research. They will play a vital role in increasing the understanding and awareness of the steps required in translation, commercialisation or clinical application of research, and promoting wider participation in translation and collaboration with industry.
Supporting UK life sciences
As a sector, life sciences is of critical importance to the UK economy and one of the key pillars of the government’s 2017 Industrial Strategy. It is also central to the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and its vision of achieving high-value growth, innovation and productivity along a corridor between the two world-leading life science clusters around Oxford and Cambridge.
Clearly, Cambridge – both the University and the wider ecosystem – has a critical role to play in ensuring that the UK’s capabilities in life sciences continue to deliver economic, social and health benefits. We can only do that by working with others.
My role is to help make that happen by finding new ways to bring industry and academia together, to the benefit of all. With so much going on in Cambridge across so many disciplines, this is not always a straightforward task – but it is a hugely rewarding one.
Dr Rui Mauricio
Healthcare Sector Manager, Strategic Partnerships Office
May 2021
