Stratified medicine initiative announces short-listed proposals
02 April 2012
The MRC has announced the short-listed proposals and areas of future development that could be funded under its £60m Stratified Medicine Initiative, which aims to boost our understanding of why groups of patients with the same diagnosis, differ in their response to treatment.
The £60m, four-year investment in stratified medicine research was announced as part of the UK Life Sciences Strategy on the 5 December 2011. The six short-listed applications for full proposals are in hepatitis C, two in asthma, Gaucher’s disease and two in rheumatoid arthritis. It has also identified seven development opportunities in the areas of epilepsy, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, hypertension, transplantation and primary biliary cirrhosis, to which the MRC will provide some funds to carry out networking activities and develop ideas.
Patients with the same disease often respond differently to treatment because of subtle differences in their underlying disease mechanisms. For example, patients with a specific gene mutation may respond to treatment differently to patients without the mutation.
Stratified medicine groups patients into different ‘strata’ based on these differences and treats them accordingly. However, before this can happen, groups of patients must be studied to determine the underlying mechanisms and stratify a disease, determine the best treatments for different groups and develop diagnostics to guide treatment.
For this reason, following consultations with a range of stakeholders, the MRC has adopted a disease-focused approach to stratified medicine and in December 2011 we requested proposals to develop research consortia exploring why a disease was ripe for stratification, mechanisms underpinning this stratification and how the stratification would provide real benefit to patients. We were not prescriptive about the disease area but given Cancer Research UK’s strength in cancer stratification, and after discussions with CRUK, we excluded cancer proposals. There will also be strong industry engagement and the consortia must build on existing clinical research infrastructure.
The MRC received 30 outline applications in 28 disease areas. An expert panel comprising clinicians; academics; representatives of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics companies; disease charities and international members shortlisted the six applications, which will now be required to submit full applications by 28 June 2012. The seven applications for future development have also been asked to submit new outlines.
We are now calling on the UK research community — clinical, academic and industry — to join the research consortia being developed to stratify these diseases, with the aim that each consortium should provide a dynamic platform for research that will create opportunities for further funding and collaboration. All interested parties should contact the lead PI in the first instance to discuss the plans and how you may be able to contribute. Information on the lead PI’s below.
Patrick Johnston chair of the MRC Stratified Medicine Steering Group said:
“We have short-listed six excellent proposals and look forward to receiving their full applications based on the research consortia they develop. We have also identified seven potential new areas where consortia can be developed. It is important now that industry also join in the development of these consortia and contribute ideas on the direction in which they should develop and we urge industry to contact the lead applicant. We are also keen to work with patient groups in the shortlisted diseases to ensure that the consortia reflect patient needs.”
For more information visit http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Calls/stratified_medicine/index.htm#P135_11343
Short-listed applications for full proposals
Dr Eleanor Barnes |
University of Oxford |
Stratified Medicine to Optimise Treatment for Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Infection (STOP-HCV) |
University of Southampton |
Steroid insensitivity - a key factor for stratification of asthma phenotypes and novel therapies | |
Professor Liam Heaney |
Queen's University of Belfast |
United Kingdom Consortium for Disease Stratification in Severe Asthma |
Professor Anne Barton |
University of Manchester |
Optimising treatment for rheumatoid arthritis using genetic and genomic response predictors to implement a stratified medicine approach: Trait to Fate |
Professor Costantino Pitzalis |
Queen Mary, University of London |
Maximizing Therapeutic Utility of Biologics in Rheumatoid Arthritis through Stratified Healthcare (PEAC PLUS Consortium). |
Professor Timothy Cox |
University of Cambridge |
Predictive measurements to stratify clinical outcomes in children and adults with Gaucher disease and responses to specific therapies |
Invited to develop consortium for future submission to the next outline stage
Professor Sanjay Sisodiya |
University College London |
EPISTAR - Epilepsy Stratification |
Professor Christopher Griffiths |
University of Manchester |
Psoriasis Stratification to Optimise Relevant Therapy (PSORT) |
Profesor Paul Matthews |
Imperial College London |
Treatment Stratification for Disease Modifying Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis Patients |
Professor Shitij Kapur |
Kings College London |
Treatment refractory schizophrenia: building networks and elucidating mechanisms for a Stratified Medicine approach |
Professor Morris Brown |
University of Cambridge |
Rational treatment of hypertension: from Essential to Stratified |
Professor Graham Lord |
Kings College London |
The prevention and treatment of the complications of transplantation by stratification of risk |
Professor David Jones |
University of Newcastle |
Stratified Medicine in Primary Biliary Cirrhosis: Understanding Disease Mechanisms and Targeting Therapies |
