News Article
NanoKTN And Bio Nano Consulting Partner Join Forces
The companies plan to deliver innovation and commercial applications in Bionano and Nanomedicine. New applications may include regenerative medicine, diagnostics, imaging and drug discovery.
The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN), a UK knowledge based network for micro and nanotechnologies, has announced a 20 month partnership with Bio Nano Consulting (BNC) and the creation of the NanoKTN's fourth theme, Bionano and Nanomedicine.
This new technology partnership will support all UK bionano and nanomedicine capabilities and provide thought leadership and input into UK Government policy and strategy related to this area. BNC and NanoKTN will promote technology transfer and communication between researchers and industry, and encourage debate amongst interested parties regarding the key ethical issues surrounding the potential impact of nanotechnology in biotechnology and medicine.
The NanoKTN and BNC will launch and co-ordinate at least four focus groups per year, all dealing with a variety of bionano and nanomedicine related topics, such as drug delivery and discovery, nano diagnostics and biomedical electronics. In addition, it aims to organise a major flagship event, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust, scheduled for February 2009, to cover the use of nanotechnology in areas such as regenerative medicine.
This partnership between the NanoKTN and BNC includes the secondment of Dr Mike Fisher to the role of theme manager. As theme manager, Mike Fisher will be responsible for managing the day to day operational activities of the bionano and nanomedicine theme for the NanoKTN. Most recently, Fisher worked for UK Trade & Investment as the UK government's Life Science Industry Advisor covering North America, leading market analysis and intelligence projects, identifying opportunities and threats to international investment, and representing the UK regulatory agencies in the US. Fisher has written numerous published papers, the most recent paper concerning early stage clinical trials in the UK.
“I am delighted to be associated with an innovative organisation that is contributing to the global growth and importance of nanotechnology, particularly in the healthcare and life science sectors. This project will raise the awareness of bionano and nanomedicine and support the next generation of its capabilities,” explains Mike Fisher. “With so many recent and positive developments in bionano and nanomedicine, this is the right time for the NanoKTN to be promoting and supporting this area of work. This is an extremely exciting opportunity.”
BNC is jointly owned by University College London (UCL) and Imperial College and was founded in 2005 as part of the DTI (now Technology Strategy Board) Micro & Nano Technology (MNT) initiative. To date BNC has received almost £5 million in government funding to create and operate a bio-nanotechnology centre of excellence. As part of the original remit of the BNC, it was stipulated that they participate in the creation and management of a UK Bio-Nano Network. As this is the purpose behind the NanoKTN's bionano and nanomedicine theme, BNC is ideally suited to handle this contract.
Director of the NanoKTN, Dr Alec Reader, comments, “Working with the BNC has many benefits and I am looking forward to seeing this theme evolve. Mike Fisher's wealth of contacts in the bionano and nanomedicine space will be invaluable to the NanoKTN.” Reader concludes, “This is a great opportunity for us to promote the positive work of the UK bionano and nanomedicine sector.”
Bionano and nanomedicine is being widely applied with positive affect. For example, the US biotech company Abraxis has developed world's first and only protein bound chemotherapeutic compound for injectable suspension (paclitaxel protein bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin bound), which is based on the company's proprietary tumor targeting technology known as the nab platform. The first product to use this nab platform was launched in the United States in 2005 for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
This new technology partnership will support all UK bionano and nanomedicine capabilities and provide thought leadership and input into UK Government policy and strategy related to this area. BNC and NanoKTN will promote technology transfer and communication between researchers and industry, and encourage debate amongst interested parties regarding the key ethical issues surrounding the potential impact of nanotechnology in biotechnology and medicine.
The NanoKTN and BNC will launch and co-ordinate at least four focus groups per year, all dealing with a variety of bionano and nanomedicine related topics, such as drug delivery and discovery, nano diagnostics and biomedical electronics. In addition, it aims to organise a major flagship event, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust, scheduled for February 2009, to cover the use of nanotechnology in areas such as regenerative medicine.
This partnership between the NanoKTN and BNC includes the secondment of Dr Mike Fisher to the role of theme manager. As theme manager, Mike Fisher will be responsible for managing the day to day operational activities of the bionano and nanomedicine theme for the NanoKTN. Most recently, Fisher worked for UK Trade & Investment as the UK government's Life Science Industry Advisor covering North America, leading market analysis and intelligence projects, identifying opportunities and threats to international investment, and representing the UK regulatory agencies in the US. Fisher has written numerous published papers, the most recent paper concerning early stage clinical trials in the UK.
“I am delighted to be associated with an innovative organisation that is contributing to the global growth and importance of nanotechnology, particularly in the healthcare and life science sectors. This project will raise the awareness of bionano and nanomedicine and support the next generation of its capabilities,” explains Mike Fisher. “With so many recent and positive developments in bionano and nanomedicine, this is the right time for the NanoKTN to be promoting and supporting this area of work. This is an extremely exciting opportunity.”
BNC is jointly owned by University College London (UCL) and Imperial College and was founded in 2005 as part of the DTI (now Technology Strategy Board) Micro & Nano Technology (MNT) initiative. To date BNC has received almost £5 million in government funding to create and operate a bio-nanotechnology centre of excellence. As part of the original remit of the BNC, it was stipulated that they participate in the creation and management of a UK Bio-Nano Network. As this is the purpose behind the NanoKTN's bionano and nanomedicine theme, BNC is ideally suited to handle this contract.
Director of the NanoKTN, Dr Alec Reader, comments, “Working with the BNC has many benefits and I am looking forward to seeing this theme evolve. Mike Fisher's wealth of contacts in the bionano and nanomedicine space will be invaluable to the NanoKTN.” Reader concludes, “This is a great opportunity for us to promote the positive work of the UK bionano and nanomedicine sector.”
Bionano and nanomedicine is being widely applied with positive affect. For example, the US biotech company Abraxis has developed world's first and only protein bound chemotherapeutic compound for injectable suspension (paclitaxel protein bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin bound), which is based on the company's proprietary tumor targeting technology known as the nab platform. The first product to use this nab platform was launched in the United States in 2005 for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
