Agreement confirms global potential for biomaterial based research at NUI Galway

The Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB) at NUI Galway will formally sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a leading Chinese research institute the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine (TJAB) and a major Chinese medical technology company China Nucleon Medical Technology Group (CNPK). The official signing ceremony will take place at the Irish Embassy in Beijing today (Tuesday, 14 August) and will be attended by Minister for Health Dr James Reilly TD, the Irish Ambassador to China, Mr Declan Kelleher and President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne.

TJAB is a new, state-of-the-art, 173 million dollar research facility in Northern China while CNPK is a pioneer in medical imaging for the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and has extensive facilities for clinical trialling and preclinical drug development throughout China.

The memorandum is designed to encourage a mutually beneficial relationship which will facilitate the exchange of researchers, the exchange of academic information and the development of collaborative research projects. For the first project under this new agreement, NFB will be collaborating with its Chinese partners to develop a cutting edge polymer for cancer treatment.

Dr Wenxin Wang, Principal Investigator at NFB, said: “This agreement has huge potential both for the development of new techniques and treatments and for the commercialisation and translation of existing technologies to the clinical environment. China is currently emerging as a major player in biomedical research, and establishing these relationships now will pay ever-increasing dividends in the future. NFB is well poised to engage opportunities in China.”

The NFB is a Science Foundation Ireland funded strategic research cluster which has established a critical mass of biomaterials research in Ireland.

Speaking of the singing of the Memoranda of Understanding in China, President Browne said: “Partnerships such as the one we sign today point to Ireland’s global strength in the Biomedical Sector and the importance of creating linkages which will be of mutual benefit to industry and enterprise both in Ireland and in China.  It also highlights the global opportunities which exist for Irish universities and research organisations.  NUI Galway is very pleased to see our partnerships in China grow and flourish in this way.   We must remember that the work of this partnership in commercial research will ultimately benefit countless cancer patients and sufferers.  Their future health depends on new and innovative treatments – such as those that will be addressed by this technology.” 

Other existing partnerships between NUI Galway and Chinese institutes include collaborations with both Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Medical Military University Hospital in Xi’an which were signed as part of the Trade and Investment Mission to Shanghai and Beijing earlier this year led by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD and Minister Richard Bruton TD.

The Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) based at NUI Galway signed collaborative agreements with the Shanghai Institute for Pediatric Research, Bio-X Institutes and the Tangdu Neurosurgery & Neurology Hospital, research institutes based in two leading Chinese Universities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an. Funded by Science Foundation Ireland, REMEDI is Ireland’s leading research institute in the area of regenerative medicine and stem cell research.

ENDS