BIA Member Webinar - Funding and solving R&D challenges: scientific, commercial and animal welfare drivers behind NC3Rs and CRACK IT Challenges

NC3Rs have partnered with AstraZeneca and Actual Analytics to present a case study of innovative collaboration from the CRACK IT project.

CRACK IT Challenges is an open innovation R&D competition which funds the development and commercialisation of products and services to address research challenges set by companies from the pharmaceutical, chemical, agrochemical or consumer product sectors, and which if solved will reduce reliance on animals or improve animal welfare. It is run through Innovate UKs Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) process and is open to any European Union (EU) body, public or private. Each Challenge includes a research contract worth up to £1 million and considerable in-kind contributions provided by the industry sponsors. This can include access to compounds and associated data sets, in-house validation studies, specific guidance and expertise, etc.

Here we will showcase the Rodent Big Brother Challenge set by AstraZeneca, to develop a novel rodent home cage monitoring system for improved safety pharmacology assessment during drug development. During the webinar, why and how CRACK IT has been established, the scientific, commercial and animal welfare drivers that led AstraZeneca to set the challenge, and the development of the Home Cage Analyser system by the SME Actual Analytics to address the challenge, will all be described. 

Further information on CRACK IT Challenges

NC3Rs have recently launched the 2017 CRACK IT Challenges which are sponsored by Shell, Syngenta and Unilever and have a budget of £2.7million.

Challenge 26: DARTpaths: Mapping developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART) genes and pathways for cross-species comparison of toxic compound effects (Two Phase Challenge Sponsored by Shell and Syngenta; £1 million budget).

Challenge 27: DoCE (Dosing for Controlled Exposure): Dosing strategies for characterising in vitro dose-responses with increased relevance for in vivo extrapolation. (Two Phase Challenge Sponsored by Unilever and Shell; £1 million budget).

Challenge 28: RespiraTox: In silico model for predicting human respiratory irritation. (Single Phase Challenge Sponsored by Shell; £100k budget). 

Expertise needed to solve these Challenges includes, but is not limited to:

• Mathematical modelling
• Data handling
• In vitro biology
• Chemistry
• (Bio/chemo-) informatics
• Toxicology
• QSAR development and validation
• Statistics

Visit CRACKIT Challenges to find out more and register for the competition launch event on 7 September 2017.