iiCON launches next phase to accelerate pioneering infection R&D
The Infection Innovation Consortium: iiCON has launched its second phase of activity to accelerate pioneering infection innovation, supported by a £6 million grant from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF).
The consortium, which is led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, brings together academia, industry, and the NHS to bridge innovation gaps and enable cutting-edge infection research and development. The consortium partners include LSTM, Unilever, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Infex Therapeutics, LYVA Labs, Liverpool University Hospitals Group, Life Arc, University of Liverpool, and Evotec.
Launched in 2020 with an initial £18.6 million investment from UKRI’s Strength in Places Fund, the consortium has since grown to a £260 million programme. It has created over 770 jobs and accelerated 36 new products to market. A central pillar of the Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Innovation Zone, iiCON has significantly boosted North West R&D infection spend.
The new ÂŁ6 million LIPF funding has generated ÂŁ9.25 million of private funding already with a minimum projected level of private investment of ÂŁ75 million by 2033.
The second phase of the programme will see iiCON develop a permanent, globally-facing Liverpool City Region R&D hub – focused on six pioneering R&D platforms to support industry innovation.
The specialist platforms will de-risk and accelerate drug and vaccine discovery pathways and provide end-to-end support for companies of all sizes looking to progress innovative new infectious disease products and therapeutics.
These will include:
Early-stage drug discovery
Advanced organoid modelling through the recently launched Liverpool Accelerate Laboratory
Rapid clinical trials (human challenge)
Nanotherapeutics and long-lasting drug delivery systems
Antibody humanisation
Broad-based molecular diagnostics, and sensor AI and machine learning enabled wearable diagnostic devices
(Find out more about the platforms here)
The £20 million Liverpool Accelerate Laboratory, which launched earlier this month, will enable the delivery of iiCON’s innovative human organoid infection R&D workstream. The first of its kind in the UK, the high-security, Category Level 3 laboratory enables cutting-edge automated organoid research, supporting commercial and research collaborators to develop innovative new drugs and vaccines utilising human organoid technology, helping to phase out animal testing. (Find out more)
Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, said: “Since 2020, iiCON has shown what can happen when you bring together Liverpool’s world-class research, industry and the NHS around a shared ambition.
“It has already helped secure hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, create more than 700 jobs and bring dozens of new products to market. Now, with this new investment, we can build on that success and take it even further.
“The Liverpool City Region is the UK’s capital of innovation. We’re putting that knowledge and ambition at the heart of the global fight against infectious diseases, creating the high-value jobs and investment that come with it, and making sure the next generation of life sciences innovation happens here.”
Joanne Allison, Programme Director for the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund said: “iiCON2 is an excellent example of what can be achieved when world-leading researchers, innovative businesses and regional partners come together around a shared ambition. Building on local strengths and previous UKRI investment, iiCON2, alongside the wider Liverpool City Region portfolio, will create high-quality jobs, attract investment and deliver tangible benefits for people and communities across the region.
“Through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, UKRI is supporting partnerships across the UK to build on their distinctive strengths, translating innovation into impact that advances knowledge, improves lives and drives growth.”
Professor Janet Hemingway, founding director of iiCON, said: “iiCON leverages the synergy of strategic partnership, this approach enables us to co-develop, and offer industry collaborators of all sizes access to, the world-leading infection control R&D facilities in the Liverpool City Region. This activity will support cutting-edge infection R&D and accelerate the discovery and development of the drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics of the future by closing gaps, driving efficiency, and overcoming barriers to market – getting pioneering new treatments and products to patients and communities faster and more safely.
“Under the second phase of our programme, we will develop a permanent globally-facing R&D hub based in the Liverpool City Region, concentrating our focus on six pioneering platforms that support the growth of local companies in one of the region’s recognised Smart Specialisations, acting as a magnet for increasing local R&D activity and attracting new companies and major foreign direct investment into the UK.
“The Liverpool Accelerate Laboratory is one of the key platforms that form part of our activity. As industry responds to changing regulatory pathways, we are offering this advanced platform for pioneering experimental R&D through the development of advanced organoid models. This will support commercial innovation and accelerate the discovery of new drugs and vaccines.”
Professor David Lalloo, Vice Chancellor of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said: “As a world leading specialist research institution LSTM is proud of the impact that iiCON has had over the last five years. The continued investment by UKRI is a testament to the translational nature of the cutting-edge research carried out at LSTM and across the Liverpool City Region.
“This is a clear example of how working across academia, industry, government and funders strengthens collaborations to bring research from bench to bedside and beyond; delivering economic growth, high value jobs and greater health security.”
Lorna Green, CEO of LYVA Labs, said: “We’re delighted to be marking the launch of iiCON’s second phase. iiCON is a model of pioneering co-innovation – the strategic partnerships it has convened have helped to bolster the Liverpool City Region’s standing as a world-leading centre for infection control R&D. This has supported the creation of new jobs, developed the regional skills base, and enabled innovative businesses of all sizes to access truly cutting-edge technology and expertise to drive their innovation aspirations forward.
“iiCON and LYVA Labs have jointly delivered several impactful programmes to drive forward innovation led growth over the years. Under the second phase of iiCON, as a core partner, we will optimise the ability of local SMEs to access iiCON’s pioneering R&D platforms, strengthening their business case, market analysis and ability to secure funding. We’re incredibly excited about the next phase of iiCON and look forward to working alongside our partners across the region and beyond on this inspiring programme.”
Dr Pete Jackson, CEO of Infex Therapeutics, said: “As a founding iiCON partner we’re proud of the contribution the consortium has made to bring forward innovative new treatments, vaccines and diagnostics for patients and communities.
“As a founding partner, Infex has advanced its lead programme, RESP-X, for drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, from early discovery through to in-patient clinical trials within iiCON. That progress demonstrates the model working as intended: combining academic research infrastructure with industry expertise to advance novel mechanisms through the highest-risk stages of development.
“Our collaboration with iiCON demonstrates what integrated expertise, support and funding can achieve in tackling infectious disease and drug resistance. Under phase two, we look forward to leading the early-stage discovery platform and applying this approach across our broader anti-infective pipeline to advance promising new therapies for some of the most challenging drug-resistant infections.”
