Funding available
ITI Life Sciences, the organisation set up by the development agency Scottish Enterprise as an innovation fund to leverage Scotland´s early stage life sciences research, issued a call for expressions of interest from companies, academic research groups or individuals looking for funding in the field of molecular medical imaging.
Following a market analysis, or foresighting, report published earlier this year, ITI identified this area as one with significant potential.
While medical imaging is already firmly established as an integral part of modern healthcare, molecular imaging promises to provide an altogether more powerful perspective – the ability to go beyond visualising anatomy and physiology, to studying metabolic and physiological processes, often in real time. This could have a huge impact on drug development, diagnostics and healthcare over the coming decade.
Eleanor Mitchell, acting CEO of ITI Life Sciences said, "We believe
there are numerous opportunities within the molecular imaging field and
a compelling case for funding innovation within this field. We would
therefore like to engage with appropriate individuals and/or
organisations to identify exciting R&D opportunities.”
Since its formation two years ago ITI has committed over £42 million to
R&D programmes ranging from biomarkers and point-of-care
diagnostics to text mining. In February 2005 it invested £30 million in
the formation of Stirling Medical Solutions Ltd, which was set up to
use novel biomarkers as the basis for monitoring chronic disease. A
month before that it gave £3.7 million to three Scottish companies to
develop cell-based screens, and £5.7 million to CXR Biosciences of
Dundee, and Artemis Pharmaceuticals of Cologne, Germany to develop drug
screens.
ITI claims a track record of working with entrepreneurial companies, making links between apparently disparate technologies and ideas to generate innovation. Opportunities that score highly in the foresighting exercise are crafted into collaborative programmes, typically involving two or three parties.
ITI provides funding to cover the development costs of delivering the programme and its programme managers provide coordination of all parties. It is also able to draw on the expertise and global networks of its advisory Board, which is composed of experts from business and academia.
Responses are invited from companies, agencies, institutes, academia and individuals. No geographical restrictions apply and ITI welcomes responses from non-UK organisations.
Contact
ITI Life Sciences
Innovation House
17 Luna Place
Dundee Technology Park
Dundee DD2 1TP
UK
[email protected]
Tel: +44 1382 568060
Fax: +44 1382 568061
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.