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UCL joins forces with pharmaceutical giants in new joint venture

University College London has announced its involvement in a new £40m research treatment fund in conjunction with three global pharmaceutical giants.

The university, along with Imperial College London and University of Cambridge, has joined together with global firms AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation to create the Apollo Therapeutics Fund, which aims to support therapeutic innovation.

The three firms, who will each contribute £10m to the fund, will work in conjunction with the technology transfer offices (TTOs) of each university to translate more promising research into novel medicines. Each TTO will contribute a further £3.3m.

The three industry partners will also provide research and development expertise and additional resources to assist with the commercial evaluation and development of projects.

Dr Ian Tomlinson, Chairman of the newly formed Apollo Therapeutics Investment Committee, hailed the new fund as the first of its kind when he said: “This is the first time that three global pharmaceutical companies and the TTOs of three of the world’s top ten universities have come together to form a joint enterprise of this nature, making the Apollo Therapeutics Fund a truly innovative venture.

“Apollo provides an additional source of early stage funding that will allow more therapeutics projects within the three universities to realise their full potential. The active participation of the industry partners will also mean that projects will be shaped at a very early stage to optimise their suitability for further development.

“The Apollo Therapeutics Fund should benefit the UK economy by increasing the potential for academic research to be translated into new medicines for patients the world over.”