Pharma trade group launches research collaboration platform in the UK

The main trade group for the UK’s pharmaceutical industry is launching a research collaboration platform with the hope of fostering stronger connections between pharma companies and academia.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) unveiled the new publicly-available research database today at the Francis Crick Institute, in London.

Dubbed the Library of Initiatives for Novel Collaborations (ABPI LINC), the tool is designed to allow academics and clinical researchers to identify opportunities online for collaboration with the biopharmaceutical industry, including funding opportunities, access to cutting-edge equipment, compounds and opportunities to build collaborative relationships.

Damian Mole, a senior clinician at the University of Edinburgh, said: “ABPI LINC will benefit clinical research in the long term. Industry-academic partnerships are vital to keep the UK at the forefront of cutting-edge research and this tool will allow our university researchers to fully explore and compete for the funding and collaborative projects on offer. ABPI LINC will undoubtedly foster these links and speed up drug discovery research."

Projects on the database include funding opportunities for promising dementia research, an offer of 62 compounds available to academic scientists conducting preclinical research free of charge, plus free access to databases of drug-like bioactive compounds.

Malcolm Skingle, chairman of the ABPI's academic liaison expert network, said: "Collaboration has never been more important for successfully delivering new therapies for patients.”

“Innovation requires a vast range of skills, resources, and knowledge, which no single organization can hold by themselves.”

“ABPI LINC makes this collaboration easier than ever and has the potential to make a real difference to the speed of innovation in the UK by linking together the world-beating expertise we have in our universities, in the National Health Service and in the pharmaceutical industry.”