GSK, in partnership with the universities of Southampton, Oxford and Cambridge, has launched a new programme to train future leaders in pharmaceutical science.
Transformative Technologies in Pharmaceutical Science (TTPS) is a cross-sector doctoral training programme to equip a new generation of researchers with skills to translate scientific research and biological understanding into novel technologies, vaccines, therapies and drugs - accelerating patient benefit.
The initiative is part of the new Industrial Landscape Award programme [Link] announced by the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
TTPS will fund three cohorts of eight doctoral students each year from 2026 to 2028 - a total of 24 candidates. Four will be based at the University of Southampton.
Professor of Experimental Cancer Biology at Southampton, Mark Cragg , comments: "The University of Southampton is delighted to be part of such an exciting new programme, bringing pharma and academia together to develop the next generation of researchers with the skills to accelerate drug development and provide new medicines."
The project is led by the University of Oxford. TTPS Director at Oxford, Professor Brian Marsden, says: "Data-driven technologies are increasingly at the heart of cutting-edge biological research. It's crucial that we enable the next generation of highly skilled researchers to deliver this. We are excited to be working with GSK to drive this imperative in the context of transformative technological approaches to pharmaceutical sciences."
The UK Pharmaceutical Sector lies at the heart of the life sciences ecosystem, providing one of the key growth engines in the UK economy. In 2022, the £9 billion of pharmaceutical research and development accounted for 18 percent of all R&D performed by all UK businesses - the highest of any product area.
GSK has invested heavily in data-driven approaches to pharmaceutical R&D that are both informed by, and provide new insight, into biological processes. The goal is to make R&D more productive by reducing drug failure rates and speeding up time to adoption. However, for these advances to transform our understanding of biology and health, a shift in the way that we train future industrial and academic research leaders is needed.
Dr Kaivan Khavandi, Senior Vice President, Global Head, Respiratory, Immunology and Inflammation, Research & Development at GSK says: "The transformative power of cutting-edge technologies is revolutionising how we discover, develop and deliver medicines and vaccines to patients. To ensure GSK continues to lead this innovation, we recognise the critical need to develop the next generation of talent.
"Our partnerships with the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Southampton is key to this, enabling us to grow leaders equipped with the essential skills at the intersection of science and tech."
Professor Kathyn Lilley of the University of Cambridge adds: "Bringing together the strengths of UK academia with GSK, a global leader in the pharmaceutical industry, this programme will train a new generation of scientists to understand how to transform ideas into medicines."
Students will be trained in cutting-edge data-centred mathematical and computational modelling approaches as well as commercial skills. They will gain the communication, business and social skills necessary to forge new partnerships and to create interdisciplinary teams that can tackle global challenges.
Successful candidates will apply to and be admitted by one of the three partner universities, but all students will receive intensive doctoral training in their first and second terms of their first year at the Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Oxford, then two short, rotation research projects at Oxford, Cambridge, and/or Southampton in collaboration with scientists at GSK.
Each student will choose one of their short rotation projects to continue for their main doctoral research in their remaining three years.
These future research leaders will be the driving force translating basic scientific research and biological understanding into novel technologies, vaccines, therapies and drugs that will accelerate progress in academic research and within the industrial research and development pipeline.
The launch of this new programme comes as the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust announce plans for the Institute for Medical Innovation (IMI) - a groundbreaking new initiative that will bring together the greatest minds in medicine, computer science and engineering in the fight against devastating diseases, including respiratory conditions.
