University of Birmingham

<p>At the University of Birmingham our research leads to new inventions and fuels innovation and business growth. We produce 6,000 talented and highly employable graduates every year. We play an integral role in the economic, social, and cultural growth of our nation and our region. We generate over £1 billion of regional economic activity each year and support nearly 12,000 jobs.</p>
<p>We’re constantly making exciting breakthroughs - in medicine and engineering, energy and social science - and then making them available to the people who will benefit most. Some of the mechanisms that we use to support businesses and entrepreneurs include access to our intellectual property, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), a Business Club for SMEs, and free incubation space at Birmingham Research Park.</p>
<p>We know that the financial cost of generating the new ideas, technologies and processes to competitive advantage can be high. The University of Birmingham can help you in a variety of ways including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Contract research</li>
<li>Licensing intellectual property</li>
<li>Collaborative projects and partnership</li>
<li>Consultancy with leading academics in their field.</li>
<li>Accelerating Business-Knowledge Base Innovation Activity (ABIA)</li>
<li>Access to state-of-the-art equipment, testing and analysis</li>
<li>Business accommodation</li>
<li>Funding opportunities</li>
<li>Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP)</li>
<li>Recruiting University of Birmingham students to work for you</li>
</ul>
<p>Alta Innovations, the technology transfer organisation of the University works with businesses to licence intellectual property and bring the inventions of the University’s academics to market. The University has a significant portfolio of medical, biomedical, engineering and environmental patents which are available for licensing.</p>
<p>Whether you are a large corporate organisation or a small business, and whether you require a short term solution or have a long term project in mind, you can tap into the world-class expertise at the University of Birmingham.</p>
<p>We have an excellent team of enthusiastic Business Engagement Partners waiting to learn more about the challenges you are facing.</p>


<h1 id="background">Background</h1>
<p>Cell and gene therapies have been tested in multiple human clinical trials and have made important medical advances, most notably in blood cell diseases and cancer. Pre-clinical testing of cellular therapies across a wide platform of disease models is of great benefit and applications for cell therapies have been considered in regenerative, immunomodulatory and anti-fibrotic settings for a range of disease conditions.</p>
<h1 id="technology-overview">Technology Overview</h1>
<p>The University of Birmingham has developed a state-of-the-art GMP Manufacturing Suite for Advanced Therapies development.</p>
<p>Licensed by the MHRA for the manufacture of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) for clinical use, experts within the Advanced Therapies Facility (ATF) also benefit from a Specials licence allowing the manufacture of products for use in selected patients outside of clinical trial settings. The ATF is situated adjacent to the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, where manufactured products can be administered to patients in an appropriate clinical environment.</p>
<p>Through collaborative research with partners and clients the Facility strives to further the development of effective cell-, tissue- and gene-based therapies, in a predominantly clinical trial environment.</p>
<p><strong>Further Details:</strong></p>
<p>The GMP Manufacturing facility is comprised of:</p>
<ul>
<li>Two clean room suites cascading from Grade D through to Grade B classification.</li>
<li>Class 2 safety cabinets and isolators within the Grade B areas offering a Grade A environment for manufacture.</li>
<li>State-of-the-art cell sorting technology including CliniMACS and Prodigy systems.</li>
<li>A dedicated QC laboratory.</li>
<li>GMP compliant storage areas containing freezers and liquid nitrogen units (including controlled rate freezers).</li>
</ul>
<h1 id="benefits">Benefits</h1>
<p>The Advanced Therapies Facility offers an end-to-end collaborative service with an experienced team providing expertise and advice on protocol development, and involvement in all aspects of technology transfer, process validation, manufacture and quality control.</p>
<p>A contracted Qualified Person is available for the certification and release of product, and services can be developed or tailored to your requirements. These include access to a licensed GMP Manufacturing Facility for the production of cell, tissue and gene-based therapies, including any or all of the stages from pre-clinical protocol and assay development through to the manufacture, QC, certification and release of the final product.</p>
<h1 id="applications">Applications</h1>
<ul>
<li>Immunotherapy, cell and tissue based therapy, gene therapy.</li>
<li>Pharmaceutical and academic sectors including Contract Research Organisations nationally and internationally.</li>
</ul>
<h1 id="opportunity">Opportunity</h1>
<p>The Advanced Therapies Facility at the University of Birmingham is seeking collaborative and contract research opportunities from both the public and private sectors.</p>
