“It is my hope that the Academic Center of Excellence, or ACE, will serve as a vehicle to advance and accelerate the best science bringing the hope of new medicines to the patients who need them.” – Patrick Vallance, SVP Medicines Discovery and Development, GSK

GlaxoSmithKline launched the Academic Centre of Excellence (ACE) in 2010 to be a virtual research network that will establish collaborations on projects of mutual interest to GSK and Singapore Investigators. Projects could include target discovery and validation, biomarker identification, or screening and drug development.

Projects adopted by GSK receive funding and resources tied to periodic review. Selection of projects is determined by the Steering Committee, which is comprised of members from the Singapore biomedical research community (Biomedical Research Council, National Medical Research Council, National University of Singapore, Duke-National University of Singapore) and GSK senior leadership. The Steering Committee meets on a quarterly basis to award funding however projects may be submitted at any time (please see ‘Grant Information’).

Proposal forms are available through the ‘Grant Information’ tab and outline the key questions that need to be answered. Projects of sufficient interest to GSK R&D will undergo further development in collaboration with the Singapore Investigator submitting the project. Any questions can be directed to ace@gsk.com.

A Master Confidentiality Agreement exists between GSK and several Singapore research institutes; however it is advisable to limit preliminary disclosures to non-confidential material. If you have any questions about confidentiality please ask your technology transfer office or or contact GSK at ace@gsk.com.

“At GSK, our objective is to consistently deliver medicines that will provide significant medical value to patients and a compelling reimbursement case to payers. We need the expertise of academic partners like you to help us accomplish this task.” – Moncef Slaoui, Chairman of Research and Development, GSK

Successful proposals will identify areas of mutual interest in which critical questions may be answered to reveal breakthroughs in understanding of disease. GSK has substantial drug discovery efforts across several major therapeutic areas, these are outlined below. These lists should not be regarded as exclusive interests, rather than areas of highly active interest.

Immuno-inflammation

Signalling pathways of pattern recognition receptors (e.g. TLRs, NLRs)

Orphan/niche autoimmune diseases

Epigenetic regulation of immune function

Mechanisms of lymphocyte activation

Modulation of Th17/Tregs

Oncology

Epigenetics

Tumor metabolism

Protein turnover pathways (protein homeostasis)

Cancer stem cell pathways

Oncology targets for Biopharmaceuticals

Linkage of early oncology discovery activities with clinically meaningful endpoints (e.g. via biomarkers, bioimaging)

Health outcomes and reimbursement/access research

Bioinformatics, study designs and adaptive design modelling

Optimizing data collection and management

Neurosciences

Translational technologies for neurosciences (e.g. clinical assessments, experimental study methods)

Increased understanding of the inherent variability and stratification within neuroscience disease populations (including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, depression and pain), and novel outcome measures

Novel CNS drug delivery technologies

Imaging of pathophysiology and pathology of CNS disorders, including neurodegeneration

Novel targets, MOA or translational medicine in neurodegenerative disorders in general (including Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Huntington’s Disease)

Metabolic Pathways

Adipose tissue dysfunction (adipokines, lipokines, inflammation)

Fat oxidation in white and brown adipose tissue

Endoplasmic reticulum stress

Novel circulating proteins and lipid mediators influencing cell energetics and/or acting on adipose tissue or produced by the adipose tissue

Epidemiology of muscle wasting

Skeletal muscle sarcomere unit targets/pathways/biology

Biomarkers/translational technologies for identifying improvement in muscle function/strength

Novel approaches to Heart Failure Therapy with particular focus on: - Cardiac metabolism and energetics - Cardiac remodelling - Cardiomyocyte survival/apoptosis

Infectious diseases

New approaches for treating viral (including HCV, HIV, RSV, HPV, HBV) and bacterial infections

Rapid diagnostic systems for viral and bacterial infections

Generation of epidemiology/surveillance data, particularly in emerging markets

Validated biomarkers and surrogates for cardiovascular risk factors in HIV showing links between changes in biomarkers/surrogates and clinical events

Validated cardiovascular risk calculator for HIV patients

Enhanced quality and more efficient short-term surrogate endpoints for long-term clinical events in HIV and HCV

Validated quality of life tools for HIV

Biopharmaceuticals

Novel delivery technologies for therapeutic proteins

Imaging of pancreatic beta islet cell function in diabetes

Bioprocessing and manufacturing technology for therapeutic proteins (e.g. dry powder stabilization, high concentration formulation)

Improving downstream capture steps from microbial/mammalian large scale fermentations

Microbial protein expression, especially to optimize or engineer bacterial strains for protein secretion

Platforms other than CHO cells for IgG production

Methods for modifying the Fc region of antibodies to increase half-life (PK) in vivo

Respiratory

Acquired resistance to steroids

Host defense mechanisms in the lung

Immunomodulation

Lung fibrosis and repair

Mucus production and mucociliary clearance

CFTR protein function

Neuronal hypersensitivity in airways disease

Novel bronchodilator targets (not beta2 agonists or muscarinic antagonists)

Oxidative stress

Resolution of inflammation

Ophthalmology

Retinal diseases (Neovascular AMD, Dry AMD, Diabetic Retinopathy, Diabetic Macula Edema)

Inflammatory diseases (Dry Eye, Uveitis)

Technologies for delivering drugs to the retina

Mechanisms and molecules for protection of retinal and pigmented epithelial diseases and neuroprotection of retinal diseases

Glaucoma (not IOP)

Links to GSK websites
GlaxoSmithKline - www.gsk.com/collaborations

Download research proposal templates and email questions and completed forms to ace@gsk.com.