UNC gets healthy $54.6m

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) has been awarded a five-year $54.6m Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to bolster its life sciences commercialisation efforts.

The UNC will be partnering with two institutions, RTI International and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, to accelerate the pace of tech transfer across the state of North Carolina and provide direct benefit for its residents.

The funds will be used to pursue three strategic objectives: to utilise next generation tech to transform the nature of clinical research and practice, further studies into tests and treatments, and new paradigms and resources to accelerate drug development.

Barbara Entwisle, vice chancellor for research, said: “At UNC, research is much more than an ivory tower exercise. As a state university, we have a special obligation to serve North Carolina. This award supports our mission by moving discoveries into practice, helping to spin out new life science businesses, and funding hands-on projects to improve the health of our citizens.”