Protas is delighted to announce a new strategic partnership with Moderna, the leading biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA). Moderna’s mission is to deliver the greatest possible impact to people through mRNA medicines.
This strategic partnership is a significant first demonstration of Moderna’s multifaceted commitment to the UK Life Sciences sector.
It follows the announcement of a strategic partnership with the UK Government to establish a state-of-the-art Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre in the UK, encompassing mRNA, research, development and manufacturing.
Moderna will also deliver a significant share of its clinical trials in the UK and will support Protas’ efforts to radically alter the way clinical trials are designed and delivered to better meet the needs of patients and society.
This announcement follows similar agreements that Protas made with Sanofi and Regeneron earlier this year.
Protas is led by the epidemiologist and physician, Professor Sir Martin Landray, who has over 20 years’ experience of leading large, randomised clinical trials as part of a team at Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Population Health.
Most recently, he has been leading the landmark RECOVERY clinical trial into treatments for COVID-19 which identified that treatment with the inexpensive steroid drug, dexamethasone, improved the chances of survival for the most severe cases.
Professor Sir Martin Landray, Chief Executive of Protas, said: “We are very pleased to have signed a strategic partnership with Moderna, marking the start of a long-term collaboration to deliver smarter clinical trials for better health.
“Moderna has considerable expertise in the clinical trials sphere and is a pioneer of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. Our strategic partners have an important role to play in growing Protas’ capacity to deliver high-quality trials for life-saving treatments at a fraction of current costs and we look forward to working with the team to improve outcomes for patients in the UK and globally.”
Dr Melanie Ivarsson, Chief Development Officer at Moderna, said: “We are excited to partner with Protas to disrupt and digitise traditional approaches to delivering clinical trials, particularly those assessing potential new therapies that apply to large populations – like vaccines.
“We see the UK as an ideal place to explore new ways of working with clinical researchers and healthcare systems, to deliver robust evidence, at pace and inclusively. This partnership is the first demonstration of our commitment to invest in the UK life sciences ecosystem.”
Protas will combine smart randomised trial design with effective technology, aiming to encourage the development of more effective treatments for conditions which affect a large proportion of the population and place huge pressure on health services.
It will do this at a fraction of the cost of current trials, by minimising complexity and designing trials that focus on the elements that matter most to the participants in the trial and to those future patients whose care will be impacted by the results.
Protas will also use an integrated technology system to support the safe, trustworthy and efficient use of data to deliver its trials and generate the evidence needed to bring treatments to patients.
Protas has also received funding grants from venture capital firm GV, Flu Lab, a charitable organisation fuelling bold approaches to defeat influenza, and Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt.