A key goal of the Milner from the outset has been to drive new models for academic-industry collaborations, and to lower barriers to engagement across these sectors. While the Milner Therapeutics Consortium is rooted in the Cambridge ecosystem – providing a hub for pharma collaboration with researchers at the University of Cambridge, the Babraham Institute and the Wellcome Sanger Institute – we have always looked to engage with other ecosystems too. Through initiatives such as our annual Symposium and visits to institutes across the UK and internationally, the Milner has created new connections beyond Cambridge.
This year, we are excited to announce a select group of Academic Partner Institutions in the UK. Our first new partners are the University of Manchester, the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. By working together, we will create complementary opportunities for collaboration with industry and drive new academic synergies between Cambridge and these UK ecosystems. Moreover, this new link to Manchester is part of the cross-UK Cambridge x Manchester Partnership.
Partner Institutions will participate in our industry challenge-led call for proposals and build stronger relationships with our ten pharma partners through the Milner Consortium. In addition, start-ups from these ecosystems will be invited to pitch at Milner events, driving new opportunities for investment in UK companies.
We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Our goal is to drive more academic-industry collaborations that will impact on the next generation of therapeutics. By creating more opportunities for pharma partnerships that are complementary to those here in Cambridge, we can ultimately strengthen UK translational research as well as investment into early-stage companies.
This partnership with the Milner Institute significantly strengthens our ability to connect outstanding academic research with industry needs.
By working alongside fellow leading ecosystems such as Cambridge, Manchester and Glasgow, we can create more complementary pharma collaborations, linking up areas of specific pharma interest to knowledge and expertise at the University of Edinburgh.
We are delighted to join the Milner Therapeutics Institute as a new Academic Partner Institution. The University of Glasgow has a strong record of working with industry to turn research into real-world impact. This partnership will help us build on that record, strengthen links across the UK innovation ecosystem, and showcase Glasgow’s world-leading research strengths.
We are grateful for the support and openness shown by our colleagues in Cambridge and the Milner Institute and look forward to working together to share expertise, build new partnerships, and accelerate the translation of breakthrough science into new therapies.
We are delighted that The University of Manchester is joining the Milner Institute as an Academic Partner Institution. This partnership opens an important new route for our researchers and emerging companies to engage with leading pharmaceutical partners, respond to industry-defined therapeutic challenges and accelerate promising discoveries towards patient and societal benefit. It also reflects the ambition of The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership and the role of Unit M in making it easier for partners to access Manchester’s research, talent and ideas – creating new opportunities for collaboration, commercialisation and UK life sciences impact.
