The Target Development Fund will be making a call for therapeutic projects  the most exciting ideasfrom universities and research institutes worldwide. Anyone with a project that could be progressed within the Target Development Fund can get further information on how to apply. Alternatively contact Dr Barry McGuinness  (right). Application closing date is 18 November 2011.

The fund will support the translation of world-class life sciences research into early phase drug discovery and development projects that
address a clear unmet medical need.

The data packages generated around these projects will demonstrate the appropriate disease model-based validation required to make them highly attractive to potential licensing partners from within the pharmaceutical industry.

Projects developed within the fund will be able to leverage the respective strengths and synergies between the collaboration partners. TPP brings scientific and commercialisation expertise, a global network of contacts and the ability to access downstream investment funds.

TheTarget Development Fund will fuse TPP’s core competencies with the DDU’s world-class chemo-informatics modelling and early stage drug discovery expertise and infrastructure.

TPP is a UK-based, biotech company focused on developing preclinical drug development programmes to a commercialisation point at which they can be licensed to large pharmaceutical biotech companies, or spun out into separate standalone operating companies.

The intellectual property behind TPP’s programmes originates from a number of sources, including
universities, research institutes and industry as well as internally generated ideas. TPP seeks genuine partnerships with academic researchers throughout the UK, Europe, US and Asia in order to facilitate the successful translation of the most novel and exciting ideas into safe and effective drugs.

Dr Tom Brown, TPP’s CEO and CSO commented, “TPP, the University of Dundee and the SFC have acommon vision to see the successful translation of the early stage research into medicines that benefit patients. This collaboration goes a long way towards achieving that.”