Launching our Business Engagement Fund whilst talking to industry

On the 20th of April, one of our most anticipated events took place at the Royal Society of Medicine in London: The MRC National Mouse Genetics Network Industry Day. Around 85 delegates attended the event, 50 of whom were external to the Network and represented around 30 different companies/organisations.

It was a chance to discuss ways in which industry and our network can work together, as well as to understand what we can do to engage our corporate partners in order to maximise the clinical impact of our research and speed up the development of therapeutic and diagnostic tools.

Our Director, Owen Sansom, started proceedings with an overview of the Network and examples of interactions with industry that are already underway Owen was also thrilled to be able to announce our £750,000 Business Engagement Fund and to encourage delegates to discuss projects and apply on our website.

The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell’s Director, Sara Wells, continued by explaining where the MLC fits into the partnership and described the incredible array of scientific and technical expertise concentrated within the centre and the clusters that can be used to catalyse collaborative efforts with industry.

After a short break, it was Industry Working Group lead Rob Pitceathly’s turn to review the Network clusters and highlight where we think obvious points of contact with business can be found, before AstraZeneca‘s Simon Parry gave an insightful talk about the development process within the pharmaceutical industry and the points at which academic research input and data can fit and contribute to expedite the process and mitigate the risks. He provided some pertinent examples and stimulated some interesting reflections.

The event concluded with a vibrant networking session in which Network and industry representatives had the chance to get into some interesting discussions about future collaborations over tasty nibbles and drinks. A successful event that opened the door to some potentially fruitful projects primed by the MRC’s investment in the Business Engagement Fund. Please apply here! Deadline extended to the 5th of June 2023.

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