Cardiff University launches Medicines Discovery Institute

Cardiff University has launched an initiative to help develop new medicines for mental health and central nervous system conditions.

The Medicines Discovery Institute will focus on areas of unmet clinical need in an aim to improve the lives of people across the world.

With funding in part from the Welsh government, it’s hoped that the £14 million centre will put Wales at the forefront of medical innovation.

Located within the University’s School of Biosciences, the Medicines Discovery Institute will also provide training opportunities for the next generation of medicines discovery scientists.  

A first major project for the Institute is a focus on improving anxiety medications, of which there have been no advances in research since early 1960.

Researchers will focus on the development of drugs that reduce the side effects associated with the benzodiazepine class of anxiolytic drugs.

Another area of research for the Institute will be to improve medication options for people with the most common inherited cause of learning disabilities.

A grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC) will help the Institute target improved medications for those with fragile X syndrome.  By focusing on a protein known to regulate the connections between nerve cells, the team aim to develop a novel medication that will make a difference to the lives of individuals and their families living with the condition.

Peter Halligan, chief scientific adviser for Wales, said: “I am really pleased to be involved in the launch of the Medicines Discovery Institute as it provides another opportunity to demonstrate how the Sêr Cymru programme continues to contribute to Wales's growing research capacity. The discovery and development of new drugs and diagnostics is a challenging area which takes many years, but has the potential to impact the lives of patients world-wide.

“The Medicines Discovery Institute represents a further step forward in the Welsh Government ambition for making high quality, productive, impactful research happen in Wales, and in the process ensure that Wales remains competitive in the global economy. The Sêr Cymru programme is working towards creating a step change in research capacity and locating Wales firmly on the map as a centre of scientific discovery.”

Professor Simon Ward, director of the Medicines Discovery Institute, said: “Patients are at the centre of the vision for our institute. Our ultimate aim is to reduce the impact on patients, families and society of mental health and neurodegenerative disorders by translating advances in our disease understanding into new drugs.

Professor John Atack, co-director of the Medicines Discovery Institute, added: “At the Medicines Discovery Institute, we are bringing together world-leading scientists to help identify new drug candidates. The exceptional scientific environment within the Cardiff area means we are ideally placed to translate basic science into patient benefit.”

Anxiety UK Chief Executive Nicky Lidbetter said: “The launch of the Medicines Discovery Unit at Cardiff University is a welcome development that will provide state of the art facilities to support the development of new treatments and medications for a range of conditions including anxiety disorders.

"We are already linked in with the work being undertaken by professor John Atack in developing the next generation of benzodiazepines and welcome this and indeed new research on anxiety disorders as historically this area of mental health has not received the research attention that it deserves in spite of such disorders being so prevalent in society."