RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences is set to play a key role in the newly announced €63.84 million ‘Accelerating Research to Commercialisation’ (ARC) Hub investment programme. Launched by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, the ARC Hubs aim to fast-track the commercial potential of scientific research across Ireland.

The ARC Hub programme, co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), establishes two new research hubs: the ARC Hub for Therapeutics and the ARC Hub for ICT. These hubs will provide integrated support to researchers, bridging the gap between scientific discovery and commercialisation.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister Lawless said: “The Research Ireland ARC Hubs for Therapeutics and ICT represent a new model for regional innovation and entrepreneurial training that will catalyse a step-change in the translation of cutting-edge, publicly-funded research towards impact at a regional level. The ARC Hubs will enhance and accelerate the commercialisation of research to create new products, processes and services.”

RCSI’s role

The ARC Hub for Therapeutics, led by Professor Vincent Kelly in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in collaboration with Professor Leonie Young at RCSI and Professor Liam Gallagher at University College Dublin (UCD), will accelerate translational research in small molecule and biologic therapeutics, biomaterials, biomarkers with therapeutic potential and advanced therapy medicinal products.

Welcoming RCSI’s involvement, Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at RCSI, said: "Supported by the Innovation Team in the Office of Research and Innovation, RCSI is proud to play a key role in this initiative, contributing its clinical and scientific expertise in therapeutics research and development.

“With a strong track record in drug discovery and translational medicine, RCSI is committed to bridging the gap between academic research and clinical application. Our expertise in understanding disease mechanisms, developing advanced therapeutics, combined with close ties to clinical practice, will ensure that the ARC Hub drives pioneering advancements in therapeutics. Through this partnership with TCD and UCD, we will support Irish researchers in bringing academic innovations to the clinic and the global biopharma market, ultimately delivering real benefits for patients.”

A transformative programme

Six translational research projects at RCSI have been awarded funded for phase 1 of the ARC Hub covering areas including blood clotting therapeutics for patients with bleeding disorders, a novel treatment for Parkinson’s disease, addressing hypoxia in solid tumours, gene therapy-based biomaterials for cartilage repair, gene therapies for epilepsy, von Willebrand disease and inhaled delivery of antifungal therapeutics for lung infections.

Research Ireland’s Interim CEO, Celine Fitzgerald, described the ARC Hubs as a transformative programme for regional innovation: “The two ARC Hubs unveiled today – Therapeutics and ICT respectively – will create regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in two critically important sectors for the Irish economy. Accelerating the overall journey to impact will be achieved by enabling researchers with novel ideas to become future entrepreneurs, with the Hubs providing an integrated approach to research funding, entrepreneurial training and access to networks and supports.”

With a budget of €31.6m, the ARC Hub for Therapeutics will fund innovative research projects and train the next generation of entrepreneurial scientists and engineers. RCSI will also recruit an ARC Hub project manager to oversee its contributions to the programme.