Almac Discovery and Queen’s University Belfast have today announced a five-year project to develop a new Chemoproteomics Centre of Excellence for drug discovery.
The multi-million-pound facility, which is jointly funded by Almac Discovery and a BBSRC Prosperity Partnership award, is a first of its kind in Northern Ireland and will be located at Queen’s.
The project combines and harnesses the experience of industrial and academic experts to shine a new light on the way drug molecules could be used to treat disease, by using advanced mass spectrometry techniques to examine their effects on thousands of potential drug targets simultaneously, in disease relevant systems.
This latest collaboration builds on a long-established relationship between Almac Discovery and Queen’s in biological research and early-stage drug discovery. It will leverage the capabilities and state-of-the-art expertise of Queen’s researchers in mass spectrometry and biological research across three Queen’s University research centres.
Securing a Prosperity Partnership award for this project highlights the importance of advanced proteomics in addressing drug discovery challenges which will ultimately make a difference to people’s lives.
Professor Tim Harrison, Vice President of Almac Discovery said: “Creating this industry-facing, university-based facility represents a unique opportunity to provide a step-change in proteomics-based experimental capabilities in Northern Ireland.
“Our vision is to build an internationally recognised resource comprising chemical probes, experimental capabilities, and proteomics expertise which will accelerate the research and development programmes of regional, national and international industrial and academic partners.”
Professor Christopher Scott, Dean of Research, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Queen’s, said: “We are delighted to see this new exciting initiative which will drive the research capabilities of both Queen’s and Almac. Our vision is that this Centre of Excellence will become a national asset that can help support broader research and education pipelines nationally”.
The Centre of Excellence will also enhance Northern Ireland’s drug discovery research capabilities, providing skills training for apprenticeships through to doctoral researchers.
About Almac Discovery
Almac Discovery is a research-driven biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of first-in-class therapeutics across a range of therapeutic areas including neuroscience, muscle-wasting, oncology and inflammation. Almac Discovery focuses on the discovery to the preclinical stage, seeking to licence programmes with a pharmaceutical partner for further development.
About Queen’s University Belfast
A member of the Russell Group UK’s 24 leading research-intensive universities, Queen’s is an international centre of research and education, with a student-centred ethos. Queen’s is ranked 4th in the world for international outlook (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024), 2nd in the UK for entrepreneurial impact (Octopus Ventures, 2022) and in the top 150 in the world for Research Quality (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024). Queen’s is also ranked 85 in the world in the Times Impact Rankings 2023.
Our research shapes worlds and continues to make a difference to lives and livelihoods, with 88% assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021).
The university is a lead partner in the Belfast Region City Deal which will unlock £1 billion of transformative co-investment, bringing forward projects in advanced manufacturing, clinical research and secure, connected digital technologies.
Queen’s sits at the heart of the diverse and vibrant city of Belfast which has the lowest cost of living in the UK (Mercer Cost of Living City Ranking 2023).
BBSRC
BBSRC is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.
Funded by government, BBSRC invested £451 million in world-class bioscience in 2019-20. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
