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PROFILE
From molecule to bedside
The practice of research and
innovation in pharmaceutical
science…
K
ing’s College London has a
strong tradition in pharmaceutical science, world-class
pharmacology, clinical pharmacology
and therapeutics. This has led to the
creation of a number of spinout
companies, including: MedPharm
and Proximagen Neuroscience plc, as
well as having the Quintiles Drug
Research Unit on our Guy’s campus
fully embedded within King’s College
London. The Institute of Pharmaceutical
Science (IPS) was created in November
2010 to bring together the relevant
research groupings across King’s
College London. By developing an
integrated and cohesive multidisciplinary approach, we are working to
enable accelerated drug discovery,
enhanced identification of drug
targets for drug development,
improved therapeutic agents and
efficient drug delivery systems.
In addition to the established groups
of Chemical Biology, Pharmaceutical
Biophysics, Drug Delivery, Pharmacology
and Therapeutics, and Clinical Practice
and Medication Use, IPS is closely
linked to Clinical Pharmacology, the
Quintiles Drug Research Unit at Guy’s,
the Biomolecular Spectroscopy
Centre, cancer research, the Institute
of Psychiatry, and Translational
Medicine, thus creating strong
alliances between the basic sciences
and clinicians in our partner NHS
trusts. This association facilitates the
identification and evaluation of medicines and the more effective, safer
prescription of therapies to improve
healthcare regionally and nationally.
King’s College London, along with
our associated NHS trusts (Guy’s
and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation
Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust and South London
and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust),
46
Hepcidin (acidic amino acids – red; basic amino acids – blue; disulphides – yellow; and hydrophobic
amino acids – grey) is the central regulator of iron homeostasis. Hepcidin transcription is unregulated in
inflammation and downregulated by iron deficiency. The membrane bound iron transporter, ferroportin, is
the receptor for hepcidin. Interaction of hepcidin with ferroportin leads to the degradation of the peptide.
This illustration shows the space filled structure of hepcidin approaching the membrane bound ferroportin
is also part of King’s Health Partners,
which has Pharmaceutical Sciences
as a strong Clinical Academic Group
(CAG – www.kingshealthpartners.org).
IPS is taking a leading role in this
exciting initiative.
Research
As part of the King’s Health Partners
relationship, we are working to establish a King’s College London drug
discovery/development unit to work
closely with research divisions, the
Joint Clinical Trials Office (JCTO) and
the technology transfer team to identify
unique opportunities for new drugs,
formulations and delivery devices that
can be taken to phase 1/2a trials
before licensing to third parties. An
advisory board, comprising leading
academic advisers from King’s College
London, industry and the regulatory
sector, aims to select suitable drug
discovery and development projects.
This will foster and guide an expansion
of our research activities in pharmaceutical science in collaboration with
the biotech and pharma industries.
Public Service Review: UK Science & Technology: issue 2
IPS has expertise in the development
of a broad range of biological assays
and analytical techniques for the
evaluation of novel drugs and mechanisms of action. When coupled with
in-house in-vivo models and access to
key patient groups through our health
service partners, this provides a firm
foundation from which to grow our drug
discovery initiative. At the same time,
our expertise in the areas of formulation
and drug delivery provides opportunities
for the development of novel and innovative methods for both the delivery
and the targeting of medicines.
In addition, those working in the
clinic have relevant expertise in both
preliminary proof-of-concept studies
and early clinical trials, enabling us
to fully exploit the output from the
discovery and development activities,
while providing key direction in these
projects to ensure viable and useful
end products can be delivered.
IPS also has considerable research
strengths in pharmacology and clinical
pharmacology, analytical science and
PROFILE
3D reconstruction of TRPV1 staining nerves in
airway epithelium in a guinea pig
medicinal chemistry, including molecular modelling. Within IPS, there is
particular strength in pulmonary pharmacology with excellent collaboration
existing between pharmacologists and
drug delivery specialists; this includes
work on an MRC-supported project to
investigate the safety and tolerability
of inhaled nanoparticles.
King’s College London has a
strong tradition in
pharmaceutical science,
world-class pharmacology,
clinical pharmacology and
therapeutics.
Members of the IPS are also actively
involved in improving the use of
medicines in clinical practice.
Significantly, King’s Health Partners
acts as the hub for the South London
Health Innovation Education Cluster
(HIEC); this is leading to the creation
of the Centre for Effective Medicines
Use, an initiative currently led by IPS.
Teaching
The formation of IPS has brought
together relevant teaching and research
activities under one umbrella, and as a
group we share a strong ethos for
research-led teaching. Academics
within IPS currently provide substantial
teaching of undergraduates, principally
our MPharm degree and a range of BSc
programmes. We are recognised by
both the private and public sectors for
the quality of our graduates, as well as
our commitment to in-vivo sciences
and the suite of specialist courses at
MSc level, including our long
Confocal fluorescence micrograph of a breast
cancer cell (nucleus blue) showing the
intracellular fate of the synthetic lipid carrier
(green) and the plasmid DNA cargo (red) of
peptide-targeted gene delivery systems,
courtesy of Dr Laila Kudsiova and Professor
Margaret Jayne Lawrence
established MSc programmes in
Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality
Control, Pharmaceutical Technology
and Biopharmaceuticals and the
recently initiated MSci course in Integrated Physiology and Pharmacology.
A number of other new courses in
Pharmaceutical Medicine, some of
which have been approved by the Royal
College of Physicians, Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Medicine, have recently
been introduced. These can be taken
as standalone short courses, as part
of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical
Medicine’s Pharmaceutical Medicine
Speciality Training or Certificate/Diploma
in Human Pharmacology, or as part of a
King’s College London postgraduate
award in Drug Development Science,
Clinical Pharmacology or Translational
Medicine. IPS has recently become the
only London-based member of the
Europe-wide PharmaTrain to deliver
excellence in training in drug development science across Europe – so
positioning IPS at King’s College
London as a leading player in this area.
In addition, there is a range of wellestablished certificate and diploma
programmes for pharmacists working in
primary care, including an independent
prescribing course. Academics within
IPS also supervise a wide range of
PhD projects.
Impact and innovation
ners, is working hard to improve the
nature, substance and quality of
healthcare and its delivery in London
and beyond, as well as contributing
to UK plc. Academics in IPS have a
multiplicity of collaborations with
industry (eg. Pfizer, GSK, GW
Pharma, Vifor, Helperby, Novartis,
Unilever, Verona Pharma, Reckitt)
that have led to the award of research
grants, consultancy agreements,
CASE studentships and knowledge
transfer partnerships. We are
committed in the IPS to facilitate
the training of better scientists and
clinicians, and to encourage faster
translation and adoption of the
output of research and innovation in
pharmaceutical sciences into practice.
We already collaborate widely internationally and aim to ensure that IPS
becomes the premier pharmaceutical
science research and teaching
institution inexorably bound to clinical
practice in the UK and beyond.
For more information, please contact either
Professor Clive Page or Professor Peter Hylands on
the details below.
Professor Clive Page
Joint Head of Pharmaceutical Science
and Professor of Pharmacology
Tel: +44 (0)20 7848 4784
Fax: +44 (0)20 7848 4788
[email protected]
Professor Peter Hylands
Joint Head of Pharmaceutical Science
and Head of Pharmacy Department
Tel: +44 (0)20 7848 4387
Fax: +44 (0)20 7848 4781
[email protected]
Institute of Pharmaceutical Science
King’s College London
Franklin-Wilkins Building
150 Stamford Street
London SE1 9NH
www.kcl.ac.uk
The IPS at King’s College London, in
collaboration with our NHS trust partPublic Service Review: UK Science & Technology: issue 2
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