GlaxoSmithKline allies with MRC and UK universities on disease research

GlaxoSmithKline has announced a new disease research alliance with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and five leading UK universities.

The Experimental Medicine Initiative to Explore New Therapies (EMINENT) network will be an open innovation research initiative aiming to improve understanding of inflammatory diseases that present a serious burden to patients.

It will be coordinated by University College London and will bring together teams of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Glasgow and Newcastle, as well as Imperial College London.

GlaxoSmithKline researchers will examine the fundamental biological mechanisms responsible for a range of inflammatory diseases, leveraging the disease biology expertise of the academic scientists and combining this with the pharma company's drug development expertise.

This will make it easier to address hard-to-treat conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and fibrosis in future.

Patrick Vallance, president of pharmaceuticals research and development at GlaxoSmithKline, said: "We believe that alongside the cutting-edge research our own scientists are leading, we also have much to learn from researchers outside our walls."