Queen’s and Almac join forces for ground-breaking £4.6m project 

03 February 2015

Scientists at Queen’s have received a £4.6m funding boost from Craigavon-based pharmaceuticals firm Almac, for research in the area of biocatalyst discovery and development. The investment could lead to cheaper and more environmentally friendly products.

Biocatalysis is the application of enzymes to perform chemical transformation under mild conditions. These enzymes have the potential to lower the cost of chemical manufacture, simplify supply chain and – as they are environmentally friendly –produce significantly less waste than traditional methods.

The ground-breaking 3-year development programme in the School of Biological Sciences aims to provide new, best-in-class biocatalyst platforms and products for the global active pharmaceutical ingredient, flavour & fragrance, agrochemical and fine chemical sectors. The initiative is supported by Invest Northern Ireland with part-funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

Dr Chris Allen (pictured), Senior Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology in the School of Biological Sciences, and Principal Investigator on the grant, said: “Biocatalysis and industrial biotechnology are now becoming critical drivers in both the local and global economies. This research project will help to build the knowledge base and expertise in these fields for both Almac Sciences and Queen’s. The project also demonstrates how different subject areas in the University – in this case Biological Sciences and Chemistry – can be combined to develop exciting new research opportunities.”

Other Queen’s staff involved in the project include Dr Meilan Huang (School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering) and Dr Leonid Kulakov (School of Biological Sciences).

The investment will establish a unique dedicated biotechnology research team who will accelerate the development of bioinformatics, molecular modelling and enzyme evolution. This will facilitate the introduction of faster and superior methods to access novel enzymes with unique properties that are required for scale-up chemistry.

Almac Sciences Team Leader and Head of Biocatalysis, Professor Tom Moody, said: “The biocatalyst is the future for scale-up chemistry involving chirality as it provides efficient, clean and robust processes. The £4.6m R&D investment demonstrates Almac’s continued commitment to biocatalysis, supporting further growth in our expertise and capabilities in biotechnology.”

Jeremy Fitch, Invest NI’s Executive Director of Business Solutions said: “This investment in collaborative research and development is good news for Northern Ireland’s growing life sciences sector and will help to strengthen Almac’s expertise in biotechnology.

“Almac has a reputation for excellence in the international pharmaceutical sector and this latest R&D investment will ensure that it remains in a competitive position and can continue to meet the needs of its global client base.”

For media enquiries, please contact: media@almacgroup.com or visit www.almacgroup.com.

Dr Christopher Allen can be contacted at the School of Biological Sciences, Medical Biology Centre, Queen’s University Belfast; tel: +44 (0)28 9097 2758 or email c.allen@qub.ac.uk.

 

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