World-leading Clinical Imaging Centre opened in UK

A £50m Clinical Imaging Centre has opened in the UK as the result of a pioneering collaboration between GSK, Imperial College London ( ICL) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The largest centre of its kind in Europe, it will combine the expertise and knowledge of each partner in the use of imaging technologies and will apply it to the development of new medicines. GSK has provided £46m of funding, ICL has placed £28m and MRC has given £9m.

Modern imaging technology will be used to research disease processes and the action of potential medicines in human organs such as the brain, heart and lungs - disease-associated changes in glucose metabolism, for example, or the affinity of the drug for its target. Its sensitivity allows molecular interactions to be probed.

Backed by a 10-year commitment by GSK to invest £11m a year, the CIC will use and advance the latest technologies in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Its facilities include an advanced radiochemistry development facility, two MRI machines and two PET scanners which give the unit the capacity to conduct up to 2500 scans annually. Built over three floors it will be staffed by almost 80 clinical, scientific and support staff, plus an additional eight Research Fellows from ICL.

Dr Moncef Slaoui, chairman, GSK Research & Development said: "This facility will allow GSK to partner with Imperial College and the MRC to create a world-class scientific collaboration, utilising the latest advancements in imaging to better understand diseases and how to treat them."

The CIC building, is adjacent to the Hammersmith Hospital site of Imperial College London, home to many of the world's leading experts in imaging technology.

Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council said: "The CIC is located at the heart of a clinical research centre comprising the MRC's Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College and Hammersmith Hospital and will benefit from the dynamism which prevails there." He added: "It has been an eagerly awaited addition to the site, providing substantial additional resources to a group of clinicians and scientists buzzing with ideas on how to make the most of such equipment and facilities both academically and to the benefit of patients. Imaging is allowing us to go further than many of us had imagined possible in understanding how the human body works and is an area which will greatly inform therapeutic interventions and drug development in the years to come."