Irish pharma entrepreneur sets up medical research foundation

Allen McClay, Chairman of Almac Group.

The Foundation will fund research into the use of diagnostic tools and drugs in the prevention, control and cure of disease; support and encourage research and innovation in the field of healthcare and allied technologies; increase capacity of all people and specifically those in the developing world to access the latest benefits in healthcare, and to generate and promote employment in Northern Ireland.

In its first initiative, the McClay Foundation, Queen’s University and the development agency Invest NI are finalising proposals for a strategic research collaboration in drug discovery and synthetic organic chemistry, which will see the establishment of a dedicated five-year research plan to advance personalised medicines in cancer.

McClay said, “I have long recognised the strengths that both industry and academia contribute to the ongoing fight against cancer and many other illnesses. The McClay Foundation will fund projects which harness the energies of these two sectors to advance diagnosis and treatments for the prevention, control and cure of disease.”

Dennis McCance, Scientific Director of the Queen’s University Centre for Cancer Research & Cell Biology, said, “Queen’s and Almac have built a close relationship over the years in cancer research and this partnership is now embarking on a major new collaboration which will identify new targets for drug development.  This partnership will have a major impact on cancer treatment […] and will instigate a new era of university and industry collaboration.”

The value of the endowment was not disclosed but the company said the McClay Foundation and Allen McClay will now be the sole shareholders of the Almac Group.