UK Dementia Consortium to bridge the gap between academia and pharma

The UK has today announced a new £3 million ($4.9 million) Dementia Consortium bringing together research experts from the charitable, academic and private sectors to expedite development of new drugs for dementia.

The Dementia Consortium unites the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK with life science technology transfer experts MRC Technology, Japanese drug major Eisai (TYO: 4523) and US drug major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). The consortium aims to close the gap between academic research and the pharmaceutical industry’s drug discovery programs. The Dementia Consortium will provide funding, resources and expertise to both increase the number of, and capitalise upon, new drug targets emerging from across the academic sector that hold promise of bringing patient benefit.

The announcement was made as the UK hosts the first G8 summit on dementia research in London today. Speaking ahead of the summit, Prime Minister David Cameron said the government is “throwing everything we have at making the UK the place to invest and locate and work in life sciences”. He added: “In the past two years we’ve seen £2 billion invested in this country; that will not only mean more jobs and growth, but also more research and greater progress, and it’s a huge sign of confidence in our economy. But if we are to beat dementia, we must also work globally, with nations, business and scientists from all over the world working together as we did with cancer, and with HIV and AIDS. Today, we will get some of the most powerful nations around the table in London to agree how we must go forward together, working towards that next big breakthrough.”