{"id":1707,"date":"2017-08-09T09:50:48","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T08:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/?p=1707"},"modified":"2017-08-09T09:50:48","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T08:50:48","slug":"experts-in-biosciences-leading-projects-in-one-of-the-most-ambitious-global-research-programmes-ever-created","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/2017\/08\/09\/experts-in-biosciences-leading-projects-in-one-of-the-most-ambitious-global-research-programmes-ever-created\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts in Biosciences leading projects in one of the most ambitious global research programmes ever created"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Worth a total of \u00a3225 million, the Global Challenges Research Fund<\/a> (GCRF) is supporting projects in developing countries over the next four years.<\/p>\n

Professor Colin Robinson<\/a>, Head of the School of Biosciences<\/a> is among academics from other UK universities who are joining forces with researchers in developing countries across the world to tackle some of the world\u2019s most serious challenges.<\/p>\n

Professor Robinson, working with colleague Professor Mark Smales<\/a>, will lead a \u00a34.8 million research grant into the establishment of biopharmaceutical and animal vaccine production in Thailand and neighbouring South East Asian countries. It aims to apply world-leading UK expertise to enable these countries to produce their own animal vaccines and biopharmaceutical (protein) drugs.<\/p>\n

At the moment, new generation protein medicines \u2013 especially anti-cancer drugs \u2013 are typically available to only 1-5 per cent of SE Asian patients, purely because of the high cost of imports.\u00a0 The UK team also includes groups from UCL, Imperial College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine<\/p>\n