Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
research via the discovery of “ open - access ” reagents. The consortium will
produce chemical probes that are optimized for potency, epigenetic target
selectivity, and cellular activity and hence will be able to stimulate or block
the activity of proteins under epigenetic control. This was fi nanced initially by
a grant from the Wellcome Trust, but in-kind contributions came from the
Chemical Genomics Centre based in Baltimore, which agreed to run 20 high-
throughput screens, and GSK, which gave eight full time employees (FTEs)
to the project. Subsequently the consortium has been able to attract more
funding and partners with Pfi zer and Novartis (each contributing eight FTEs)
and other organizations contributing FTEs and funding from Canada (Ontario
Ministry of Research and Innovation) and Sweden (Swedish Foundation for
Strategic Research). In keeping with SGC policy, the structure and function
(including physicochemical properties and screening data) of each probe will
be made available. Each probe is declared as such by an independent scientifi c
committee comprising world leaders in epigenetics, cellular assays, medicinal
chemistry, and drug discovery.
The SGC model demonstrates how an open-source model can be applied
to precompetitive drug discovery when both the academic and industrial part-
ners obtain clear benefi ts.
4.2.2.3 Lessons from the SGC
Clearly the policy of making everything
freely available with no IP constraints has promoted a wealth of collaboration
and data sharing that otherwise might not have been possible and removed a
lot of potential bottlenecks. Going forward, as the consortium moves into
chemical probe space, there may be more pressure from both academic and
industry partners on the IP policy, and it will be interesting to observe how
this develops. Even today the “no IP” policy means there are some limitations
to what the consortium can do.
The chemical molecules that meet certain predetermined criteria in terms
of selectivity will be made available through a commercial supplier's catalogue
as probes for academics and industry. However the structure activity relation-
ship (SAR) that underpinned them will not necessarily be available in the
public domain, and this may be perceived as against the precompetitive spirit
of the collaboration.
Working with many partners also brings its challenges and puts signifi cant
onus on the investigators to organize their collaborative network and ensure
that the consortium is fully aware of all collaborative activities. The clear gov-
ernance structure with its representation from all the sponsors means that
issues around transparency are minimized.
4.3 IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF
PRECOMPETITIVE CONSORTIA
Given the large number of precompetitive consortia that have been in exis-
tence for some years, there is now a wealth of evidence about factors that
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