UMIC has a significant business network in the region, established by working with business support services. The company is committed to assisting with the North West Development Agency’s regional strategy to provide facilities and mentoring skills in the region and in specific market sectors. These sectors are mainly in Biotechnology, Chemistry, Hi-Tech, ICT, Telecomms and Computing as well as Engineering.
UMIC works in highly positive relationships with other organizations within the University and is engaged with researchers, entrepreneurs, business people, professional advisors and investors to achieve its goals. UMIC utilises its partnerships and assets within Manchester to invest in future business growth in the city region. The company has close working relationships with a wide variety of professional, commercial and public sector organisations.Tenants have access to several other Centres of Excellence and to expertise in therapeutic areas through institutions such as MAHSC, BRC, and the Faculty of Life Sciences.
Bionow
Bionow is a cluster organisation funded and operated from within the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The organisation is committed to the strategic development and growth of businesses in the biomedical sector and aims to achieve this by providing support infrastructure and services that ensure that the Northwest is a premier location for the biomedical community. Bionow has been awarded a ‘Cluster Mark’, a new award recognising the best of Britain’s manufacturing clusters and their valuable contribution to the country’s economic growth. UMIC’s Managing Director, Martino Picardo, is on the Bionow Steering Group so can help to influence the strategy and policies. Furthermore, UMIC worked with Bionow and the steering teams to audit the Region’s strengths.
UMIC has helped to create a cluster in Biomedicine for the region which will continue growing and adding value. This attracts highly skilled biohealth people to UMIC that are offering their services, and therefore benefitting patients and the region in terms of health.
http://www.bionow.co.uk/
Manchester Biotech Group
MBG has been in existence for some years as an informal group of interested individuals originally predicted and focused on the development and provision of property for the biotech industry. The members include economic development agencies, property developers, bio sector multipliers and representative organisations as well as the research, development, commercialisations and incubation facilities of the University and the NHS.
Other Members include:
Bionow, NWDA
CMFT (BRC)
MAHSC
MC:KC (Manchester Knowledege Capital/ New Economy)
MIDAS
TrusTech
MSPL
UMIP
This group is the centre of the Bio-health cluster; a fact that is personified by its members. The group has been supported throughout by Manchester Science Park Ltd through organisation. By being a part of the MBG, UMIC has the ability to go to the group with an enquiry, enabling the members tol pull together for a response to the national call. The MBG is truly unique in group members; the world-class assets in this group ensure it to be a future global success.
http://www.manchesterbiotech.com/home/
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC)
UMIC works with MAHSC to achieve the vision of being the leading global centre for the delivery of innovative applied health research and education in healthcare. They are committed to advancing further excellence in patient care through active engagement in research. The group consists of The University of Manchester and 6 other NHS Trust partners joined together as MAHSC.
The Purpose:
– To deliver health and economic gains to the population
– To accelerate translational medicine research
– To develop innovative solutions to health problems
– To provide healthcare training
MAHSC was designated as one of the UK’s 5 AHSCs by the Department of Health in March 2009, and is the only one to have a Primary Care Trust within its partnership. Its vision is to be a leading global centre for the delivery of innovative applied health research and education into healthcare.
Research is focused, but at the same time is city-wide with cooperation between partners. Health partners in Manchester have worked together for over 10 yrs to realise the opportunities this combination of excellence in academia and local population of poor health presents. The group hope to deliver health and economic gains to the population.
MAHSC are committed to advancing further excellence in patient care through its active engagement in research. Examples of MAHSC partners’ research directing National Health Policy:
– Newborn hearing screening protocols developed b the Audiology & Deafness Unit.
– Development of new strategies to reduce risk of suicide from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide & Homicide by people with mental illnesses.
– New methods for measuring quality of care in general practice.
– Dental Screening protocols for schools were developed by the University’s Oral Health Unit.
http://www.mahsc.ac.uk/
The Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB)
The MIB is a new type of University Research Institute that has been designed to enable our academic community to explore specific areas of interdisciplinary quantitative bioscience at the highest level, largely through the efforts of multidisciplinary research teams. The Institution has grown out of a commitment to develop a globally recognised focus of interdisciplinary research at the interface to biology at the university.
MIB use advanced methods to explore the relationship between the macro behaviour of biological systems and properties of nanoscale components, seeing this understanding as a basis for developing new biotechnologies that will find applications in areas such as human health, the energy economy, food security, industrial transformations and the environment. The research efforts are largely focused on “new era” interdisciplinary bioscience, in which mutlidisciplinary teams develop quantitative models of naturally evolved biological systems and also design and create new biological systems with novel functional properties.
The MIB works in partnership with all four Faculties of the University of Manchester, and all group leaders in the Institute are members of Schools within the University. The MIB are also developing collaborations with other interdisciplinary biocentres in Europe, Asia and the USA.
http://www.mib.ac.uk/
The MIB is home to six Centres of Excellence:
Centre of Excellence for Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacture (CoEBio3)
The CoEBio3 is the UK’s new organization designed to provide a world-class scientific environment in which the necessary research and development can be carried out to create new biocatalyst-based processes to meet the changing needs of industry in the next 10-20 years. CoEBio3 train graduate and postdoctoral scientists so that they possess the necessary combination of skills in chemistry, biology and engineering needed to support these changes. Furthermore they have a dedicated pilot biomanufacturing facility that will be available to both academic and industrial groups. The Centre aims to supply the research, training and development services to enable the application of white biotechnology to produce chemical entities with an applied “genes to kilos” philosophy.
http://www.coebio3.manchester.ac.uk/
Manchester Centre for Integrative Systems Biology (MCISB)
The Manchester Centre for Integrative Systems Biology (MCISB) at the University of Manchester was awarded £6.4M by the BBSRC and EPSRC to pioneer the development of new experimental and computational technologies in Systems Biology, and their exploitation. The MCISB provides a hub for cutting-edge systems biology research in the Manchester area, acting as a focal point for the creation of the necessary ideas and infrastructure, and for establishing new methods and routines.
http://www.mcisb.org/
Doctoral Training Centre Integrative Systems Biology
The Doctoral Training Centre Integrative Systems Biology at the University of Manchester trains students for a PhD in Systems Biology. It is one of three UK Systems Biology training centres in funded by the British research councils EPSRC and BBSRC.
http://www.mib.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/DTC/
The National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM)
The National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM) is the first publicly-funded text mining centre in the world. They provide text mining services in response to the requirements of the UK academic community. NaCTeM is operated by the University of Manchester with close collaboration with the University of Tokyo.
http://www.nactem.ac.uk/
Michael Barber Centre for Mass Spectrometry (MBCMS)
The interests and expertise of the Centre are in the development of mass spectrometry and related analytical techniques, and their application to problems of biological importance.
http://www.mbc.manchester.ac.uk/
MIMIT™
The first, and at present only, translation outside the USA of the highly successful CIMIT® initiative for generating and developing innovations in medical and health technology. MIMIT™ aims to broaden the scope and to accelerate the development of new healthcare technologies; thereby enabling new technologies to reach patients faster and more effectively.
http://www.mimit.org.uk/
The Centre for Integrative Mammalian Biology (IMB)
An academic association formed by the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool as part of an initiative to build ability in integrative mammalian biology. The centre aims to deliver education, training and alliances in in vivo research to the highest scientific and ethical standards. The size and scope of the centre’s research interests is extensive: around 700 researchers. Leading expertise in numerous therapeutic areas:
– Oncology,
– CNS disorders
– Pain
– Inflammation
– Injury & repair
– Metabolic disorders
– Gatrointestinal disease
– Reproductive physiology
– Veterinary Science
http://www.cimb.ls.manchester.ac.uk/
Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research (CIGMR)
CIGMR is a comprehensive facility for the analysis of complex diseases by combining epidemiological, statistical and genetic approaches. The Centre concentrates on the analysis of inflammatory, infectious, autoimmune and neurocognitive phenotypes. They offer advice on genetic study design, ethics committee applications, bioinformatics, data analysis and comprehensive in-house lab services for clinicians and research scientists.
CIGMR also functions as a genomics research resource centre, providing a wide range of key competencies and sophisticated technical platforms supporting academic and clinical groups, university spin-out companies, SMEs and the biotech community and also fulfils a wide range of training needs in post-genome science, including postgraduate students and clinical research fellows.
The scientific services that CIGMR offers to collaborators include study design, sample collection, processing and storage using state of the art equipment and developed and tested techniques and processes backed by a high commitment to quality through ISO 9001:2000 accreditation. CIGMR provides expertise in areas such as genetic study design and data analysis, ethics committee applications and bioinformatics.
CIGMR provides genetic epidemiology expertise, laboratory facilities and access to biological samples from well phenotyped patients recruited through large longitudinal studies. This enables fully integrated research to be carried out in one place. CIGMR manages extensive DNA collections including the UK DNA Banking Network (UDBN) for the Medical Research Council and partners with the University of Liverpool to house the UK DNA Archive for Companion Animals.
http://www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/genomics/aboutus/cigmr/
Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC)
MCRC brings together the expertise, the vision and the resources of The University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation and Cancer Research UK. rch. Aims to gain a better understanding of how cancer develops and apply this knowledge to the development of better treatments and diagnostics which will benefit patients. An example of success of the joined up approach is the MCRC Biobank, a Manchester research centre initiative involving the 5 major hospital trusts in the area. Tissue bank staff are based in each of the participating Trusts, consent patients and organise the collection of tissue samples which are stored centrally. Over 700 samples have now been collected and around 50 patients a month are recruited to donate samples to Biobank.
Another example of MCRC’s success is the integration of early phase clinical trials and biomarker research that involves close interaction at the lab/ clinical interface. The early phase clinical trials unit at the Christie is currently being expanded as part of the new £35million Patient Treatment Centre development and will create one of the largest dedicated units in the world.
The Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) was officially accredited as a Cancer Research UK (CR-UK) Centre in February 2010, one of around 20 Centres to be accredited by the end of 2010. The initiative is one of CR-UK’s highest priority strategic initiatives, the vision of which is to develop long-term, sustainable Centres of excellence in cancer, delivering world-class research, improved patient care and greater local engagement. It was modelled on the partnership working in Manchester, which led to the formation of the MCRC in November 2005.
http://www.mcrc.manchester.ac.uk/
NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
The BRC is a partnership between the central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) and the University of Manchester. With over a million patients each year, BRC is one of 12 prestige centres of medical research excellence. BRC is designated as a Centre of Excellence in Genetics & Development Medicine and will invest more than £50million during the next 4 yrs on new staff, facilities and equipment.
The Centre aims to translate developments in biomedical research into new therapeutics, diagnostics & devices, moving research ideas from the lab through clinical trials into the Trust’s 5 hospitals, where they can benefit patients from Greater Manchester and beyond.
BRC researchers & clinicians are tackling some of the highest priority disease areas affecting our communities, such as trials of new drug treatments for the most common cause of blindness in older people, and developing blood test to identify pregnant women at risk of complications.
New treatments for inflammatory lung diseases and a host of other conditions could be developed following a study into the impact of circadian rhythms – or body clock. In a partnership between the University of Manchester, the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a team of scientists will investigate how our biological clock controls inflammation in lung diseases such Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). It is hoped that this project, worth more than £500,000, will lead to the development of new drugs which will target how the internal body clock regulates the severity of inflammation. In the UK 27,478 people died as a result of COPD in 2004. Other diseases with an inflammatory aspect include asthma, which is a predisposition to chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways are reversibly narrowed.
http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/brc/biomedical-research-centre.aspx
Nowgen
A centre for Genetics in healthcare, Nowgen aims to inform and improve the practice of genetic medicine and explore how genetic knowledge may impact on medicine in the future. The Centre is part of the Manchester BRC (a joint initiative between the Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) and The University).
Nowgen as become well-known for:
– Health Services research
– A programme developing & evaluating innovation in genetic services
– Well established education & training programme
– Leading networks of expertise in rare diseases in the UK & Europe
– Supporting businesses
Nowgen’s interdisciplinary approach provides a powerful platform from which it is able to inform national practice and policymaking. Working at the interface of expertise between the clinical, academic, educational and economic spheres enables them to present a comprehensive perspective of a range of stakeholders on, for example, the introduction of new technology, interventions in genetic medicine and current issues.
http://www.nowgen.org.uk/stories/191-nowgen
UK Biobank
UK Biobank is a major UK medical research initiative, and a registered charity in its own right, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis and forms of dementia. To do this vital work we need your help. We are now recruiting 500,000 people aged 40-69 from across the country to take part in this project
UK Biobank has the support of leading scientists from the UK and around the world. We are funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest independent medical research charity, the Medical Research Council, the Department of Health, the Scottish Executive and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. We also have the backing of many of the UK’s major medical research charities, including the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK. The project is also supported by the National Health Service.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Biomedical-science/Funded-projects/Major-initiatives/UK-Biobank/index.htm
Manchester Sciences Park
MSP manages buildings on two sites, which accommodate around 80 companies.
Manchester Science Park
MIDAS
The inward investment agency for Greater Manchester, providing assistance to companies looking to locate or expand business in Manchester
MIDAS
TrusTECH
TrusTECH is the Northwest NHS Innovation Hub, which helps NHS Trust manage their intellectual assets to improve healthcare and facilities links with industry.
TrusTECH
Bluemantle
A property development, investment and asset company.
Bluemantle
NWDA
The Northwest Regional Development Agency, and its biotech cluster development group, Bionow.
NWDA
