The Division of Signal Transduction Therapy (DSTT) is a unique collaboration between scientists in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit and the College of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee and five of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, namely AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck-Serono and Pfizer, which is dedicated to accelerating the development of specific inhibitors of kinases and phosphatases for the treatment of disease, as well as for the study of cell signalling. Started in 1998, it was renewed for a further five years in 2003, and with core funding of £15 million, and for a further four years in 2008 with core funding of £11 million plus additional fees for special services. It is one of one of the largest ever collaborations between the pharmaceutical company and any UK academic research institute. It involves 14 laboratories based in the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit (9 Groups), the College of Life Sciences (4 Groups) and the Medical School (1 Group) of the University of Dundee, comprising nearly 200 scientific and support staff.
Protein phosphorylation is one of the body’s principal control mechanisms. It regulates almost all aspects of cell life and it is one of the largest areas of scientific research worldwide. Abnormalities in protein phosphorylation are a cause of global diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Under the DSTT’s pioneering agreement, the companies share access to all the unpublished results, technology, know-how and reagents in the participating laboratories and have the first rights to licence the Intellectual property they generate. Currently the DSTT produce over 150 protein kinases and phosphatases and 15 lipid kinases and phosphatases, 121 different protein and 15 lipid kinase and phosphatase targets can be provided for high-throughput screening, the first step in the development of new drug leads. The DSTT helps this process further through a “kinase profiling” service, which provides an important indication of the specificity of the compounds being generated.
The University of Dundee received a Queen’s Anniversary Award in recognition of the contributions of the DSTT, which has become a model for knowledge transfer between the academic and commercial sectors. The Queen’s Anniversary Prize is the most distinguished award that can be made to a UK institution for higher or further education. The Award is to recognise the outstanding contribution a University or College makes to the intellectual, economic, cultural and social life of the nation. The award was made by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace on 16 February 2006.
The participating companies share the right to exploit the Unit’s reagents, technical know-how, kinase profiling service and unpublished results, but they pay extra for special services and to licence the Unit’s IP. Drafts of the Unit’s papers are placed on a closed website accessible only to each company. Company scientists visit Dundee three times a year for presentations of the latest results and discussions of mutual interest.
Information or IP gained by using reagents, new technologies or information introduced to the DSTT by a company remains confidential to each company. No contract research is carried out and 60% of the budget is spent on basic research projects chosen by the participating laboratories. The other 40% is spent on providing the services described above, which are extremely valuable for the Unit’s research as well as for the companies. Currently, the DSTT makes 166 kinases and phosphatases, 200 antibodies and 4,000 DNA constructs per annum and screens 80,000 – 100,000 data points per month. Currently the enzyme panel comprises 85 protein kinases. – rising to 104 on July 1st.
This kinase profiling service has recently been supported by the Medical Research Council and has become the National Centre for Kinase Profiling. To find out how to use this service click here (www.kinase-screen.mrc.ac.uk)
