Translational medicine research collaboration

Translational medicine

Translational medicine has the potential to greatly reduce the time it takes for new scientific discoveries to make a positive impact on everyday clinical practice. Scotland has strengths and capabilities in this area and is developing a world-leading network of scientific and clinical excellence.

Translational medicine in Scotland

Scotland’s large-scale Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) with Pfizer (formerly Wyeth) is testimony to the country’s globally attractive capability and strong credentials as a major centre for translational medicine.

The Translational Medicine Research Inititative (TMRI) was established in 2006 to deliver TMRC's strategy to exploit Scotland's strengths in translational medicine, including its:

  • Internationallly competitive clinical academic research base
  • Renowned high quality teaching hospitals
  • State-of-the-art clinical research facilities
  • Advanced patient databases

"Scotland offers enormous potential in the field of life sciences and in particular translational medicine."

– Executive Vice President of Wyeth Research, Pfizer 

What is translational medicine?

In traditional approaches to drug development, many potential new treatments are eventually rejected after going through a lengthy selection process to determine drug safety and efficacy.

By adopting a more collaborative approach to research and development, translational medicine aims to streamline this process and accelerate drug discoveries from ‘bench to bedside’, ultimately for the benefit of the patient.