MRCT announces substantial funding for research into drug targets
2 March 2006
Medical Research Council Technology (MRCT) – the body that commercialises some of the finest biomedical research in the world - today announced that it will co-fund work to develop new drug discovery techniques at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). MRCT will support the initiative from its Development Gap Fund, with additional funding provided by Pfizer, the world’s largest private biomedical research organisation.
The award will help the LMB develop techniques to elucidate the three dimensional structure of human G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) - disease targets that have been key to research advances in the search for medicines to treat several conditions where there remains high medical need.
GPCRs are integral components of cell membranes and it is through these receptors that cells receive and respond to essential signals, including those from many drugs. GPCRs have been shown to be ideal targets for novel drug design. Many of the most-widely prescribed drugs in the world act on GPCRs, mitigating conditions as diverse as cancer, allergies, heart disease, migraine and stomach ulcers.
MRCT Chief Executive Officer Roberto Solario said:
“We are delighted that Pfizer has matched our funding for the MRC’s Laboratory Molecular Biology’s initiative. The science involved in this project is cutting-edge, and our hope is that it might lead to the elucidation of GPCR structures and thereby aid the identification of medicines to treat a broad range of diseases.”
For more information call the MRC press office on 0207 637 6011
Notes to editors
MRCT
MRC Technology (MRCT) is the technology transfer company of the Medical Research Council responsible for turning MRC scientific discoveries and inventions into technologies and products with healthcare benefits. The MRCT Development Gap Fund is a £4.5 million commercialisation programme, invested over three years, which is available to MRC scientists to help early-stage ideas and inventions progress towards use by patients and commercial success.
GPCRs
Understanding the three-dimensional structure of the drug target or GPCR can help in the development of new drugs. In spite of much work, the structure of only one GPCR has been solved to date; the photoreceptor in the eye (bovine rhodopsin). The structure of this molecule is very stable and it is, therefore, more robust. The aim of LMB’s research is to develop generic techniques to make any GPCR as stable as rhodopsin.
