Intellectual Property and Licensing
Identifying, protecting and partnering innovative ideas
Our team of Business Managers, based across all three of our sites, spend much of their time building relationships with scientists in MRC Units and Institutes. This allows them to identify new discoveries that should be protected and commercialised.
In addition, Business Managers have built strong relationships with contacts in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Most Business Managers have post-doctoral research experience, and they all have extensive experience of finding, assessing and partnering innovative ideas.
Funding projects with commercial potential
The Development Gap Fund Manager looks after our translational fund for early stage research with commercial potential for MRC scientists. The DGF Manager administers the fund and chairs the Development Gap Panel, who assess submissions. The DGF Manager also manages the overall portfolio of projects to determine whether the fund is meeting its objectives, and reports this back to MRC Council.
Negotiating and agreeing
Members of the Licensing team work closely with our Business Managers to negotiate agreements and licences with third parties.
In addition, they provide advice on legal matters to the rest of the company.
News feed
MRCT have recently launched a second collaboration with the University of Bristol in the area of pain medicine.
Substituted aminopyrimidine protein kinase B (PknB) inhibitors show activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Researchers at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit have used OPT imaging to measure changes in tumour volume.
Barbara Saxty has co-authored a Nature Communications paper entitled An intrinsically labile α-helix abutting the BCL9-binding site of β-catenin is required for its inhibition by carnosic acid.