2021 – A year of continuing challenges

Despite COVID restrictions during 2021, we have continued to be productive with hybrid home and on-site working and booking systems to access space and equipment. Indeed, our staff survey reflected improvements in productivity and efficiency across several areas of activity, leading to the launch of a new flexible working policy.

In terms of funding, we were facing a potential cliff edge with many of our strategic funding agreements due for renewal within 2021. Along with our new COVID portfolio, enabled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we have successfully renewed support from Wellcome for the Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research (WCAIR) and a continued collaboration with GSK, Tres Cantos for our Kinetoplastids portfolio. In addition, renewed funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for our TB team will support numerous ongoing collaborations with the TB Drug Accelerator (TBDA) to drive delivery of lead compounds into preclinical development.

With our core focus to address Neglected and Tropical Diseases we have initiated a new research programme in schistosomiasis (also known as Bilharzia). Funded by Wellcome, this project is a collaboration with colleagues in the Universities of Aberystwyth and Cardiff. Strategically, our ambition is to maintain the DDU at its current size which requires investment of circa £12M p.a.to support staff levels and associated equipment, technology and consumable needs. We will seek to increase the diversity of our funding by building relationships with potential partners and funders interested in tackling diseases of the highest medical need. In terms of delivery, our objective is to deliver on average one preclinical candidate and one commercial licence or spinout company per year.

An ongoing challenge is in the retention and recruitment of drug discovery experienced scientists in a currently buoyant marketplace. We are working with the University to implement more flexible working conditions and offer competitive employment packages. We are also committed to providing an enjoyable, rewarding and intellectually challenging place to work with recognition and reward for good work and behaviours at team and individual level.

As we enter 2022, the focus for the DDU is to maintain excellent standing and recognition in the UK and globally – exemplified by our delivery of innovation, quality of science shared in peer-reviewed papers, successful collaboration and partnerships, and the delivery of preclinical drug candidates.

1preclinical candidate per year

ongoing BioPharma collaborations 1 commercial licence/spinout per year

new technologies across portfolios