CDE innate response for targets webinar

Centre
Defence
Enterprise
for
Themed Competition Webinar

© Crown copyright 2013 Dstl
20 May 2014

The aim of CDE
Technology
Best providers
Barriers

Two routes to funding
Enduring
Themed

Themed competition
Requirements
Bounded
Specific

CDE themed competition
Innate response targets for
therapy

Enduring challenge
competition
Perpetual
Radical
£3M per year

Dstl is part of the
Ministry of Defence
UNCLASSIFIED / For Public Release
Centre for Defence Enterprise
www.science.mod.uk/enterprise cde@dstl.gov.uk
Crown Copyright Dstl 2012
Enduring challenges
• protection
• situational awareness
• power
• communications
• data
• lethality
• mobility
• human performance
• lower cost of ownership
• new capabilities

Online bid submission
CDE Portal
Only route
Low overhead

Dstl is part of the
Ministry of Defence
Read available
information
Start with –
Quick Start Guide
CDE Portal

Dstl is part of the
Ministry of Defence
Register now

Innate response targets for therapy
CDE themed competition
March 25 - June 5 2014
20 May 2014

Key dates
• Competition launches today
• Presentation to follow
• Opportunity for Q&A
• Webinar Tuesday 1 April
• Deadline for applications Thursday 5 June 2014 at 17:00 hrs
via Centre for Defence Enterprise Portal
• Funding decisions to be made July 2014
• Notifications end July
20 May 2014

Background: biothreat agents
• Pathogenic for man or animals
• Very low infectious dose
• Infectious via the inhalational route
• Cause endemic disease around world
• Usually are zoonotic diseases
• Lethal or incapacitating
20 May 2014

20 May 2014
Defence against biothreats
• Many potential biothreat agents
• How to defend against them?
• Impossible to make a vaccine/therapy for every
potential agent
• Require generic therapy

Generic approach to therapy
• By influencing the host response
• Requires an understanding of the host response to pathogen & safe
ways to influence it
• Requires identification of relevant targets or pathways in the host
20 May 2014

Innate (host) response targets for therapy
• Objective of this competition is to look broadly across research and
development to identify host cell targets and pathways
• Using data derived from diverse infection models
• Respondents to competition do not need to work directly with
biothreat agents
• Ultimate aim is to apply the most innovative approaches to biothreat
agents
20 May 2014

CDE themed competition specifics
• Seeking innovative proposals for short projects (<1year); £30-
80k guide; (£500k total budget)
• Show proof-of-concept for your proposal; there is funding
allocated for follow-on work for successful projects
• Competition divided into 3 challenges
• Respondents need to address 1 of the challenges, may address
>1, do not have to address all 3
• Challenges described fully in the competition document
• Bids must be ethical and compliant with UK government
legislation
20 May 2014

Challenge 1
20 May 2014
Identification of new cellular or host pathway targets

Identification of new cellular or host pathway
targets
• In host-pathogen model of your choice
– Does not need to be a biodefence pathogen
– Does not need to be in vivo
• Conditioning of cells ex vivo
eg to profile responses or prior to adoptive transfer
• Targeting cells in situ eg
– to refocus them
– to activate them
– to induce them to traffic
– to redirect them
20 May 2014

targets
May involve the identification of eg
• immuno stimulants
• modulators
• transfection factors
• chemokines, cytokines
or the induction (or blockade) of these
• cytokine/chemokine/growth factor receptors
and application of these to modulate host
responses
20 May 2014

targets
• Some of these may be
exogenous and some
endogenous factors
• Some endogenous natural
regulators /regulatory
pathways may be exploited
• to reduce inflammation
and to restore homeostasis
20 May 2014
Normal
OveractiveUnderactive

Possible outcomes
Proposals for
– identification of new cellular targets /pathways
– new applications of manipulating known cellular targets/pathways
– demonstration that targets may be influenced beneficially, for
example to:
• prevent cytotoxicity
• prevent/reduce microbial invasion
• reduce microbial load
• restore normal cell function
20 May 2014

Challenge 2
Identification of new candidate therapies
20 May 2014

Identification of new candidate therapies
Exploit appropriate cellular targets and pathways to
identify new therapies by, for example:
• enhancing cell-mediated immunity
• investigating novel combinations
• identification and manipulation of significant
transcription factors
• micro RNA-directed therapies or antagonists
20 May 2014

Possible outcomes
• Candidate therapies should be druggable and generic
• Proposals should show proof-of-concept
• Does not exclude the re-purposing or augmentation of existing
therapies
20 May 2014

Challenge 3
Identification of new platform technologies
20 May 2014

Identification of new platform technologies
For assessing therapeutic benefit
• Novel technologies such as:
• non-invasive methods of in-vivo/ex-vivo
analysis eg bio-imaging or tracking
• Transcriptomics including micro RNA analysis
• In-silico modelling of host responses
• Novel assays to monitor the host immune response
20 May 2014

Possible outcomes
• New technologies which may facilitate the identification and
development of candidate therapies
• Proposals should demonstrate the impact of the technology
on therapeutic development
20 May 2014

What we want
• Highly innovative approaches that are significantly different from
existing technologies
• Generally technology readiness level (TRL) ≤ 3
• Generic approaches (not pathogen specific)
• Approaches applicable to intracellular pathogens where
appropriate
• Approaches that will lead to a feasible clinical product
20 May 2014

What we don’t want
Proposals that concern:
• high technology readiness level (TRL) capability
• serological targets only (rather than cellular)
• antibody-based therapies (but antibodies as a targeting
mechanism are acceptable)
• existing solutions or technology already tested and found to
have limited utility
• a paper study or review or similar
• pre-exposure therapies or therapeutics
• topical therapies for wounds
20 May 2014

Successful proposals
• Each will be assigned a Technical Partner
– Provides interface between project and defence community
– If project successful, potential routes to exploitation
developed
20 May 2014

Summary
• Competition launches today
• Webinar Tuesday 1 April
• Closes on Thursday 5 June 2014 at 17:00 hrs
• Short proof-of-concept proposals
• If successful, potential for follow-on funding
• May include additional research to develop technology for MOD
• Competition information available on CDE website
www.science.mod.uk
20 May 2014

Questions?
20 May 2014

Dstl is part of the
Ministry of Defence
e: cde@dstl.gov.uk
w: www.science.mod.uk
@dstlmod #dstlcde
LinkedIn group – search ‘Centre for
Defence Enterprise’
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