The University of Northern Ireland, Galway (NUIG) and two Chinese research institutes have signed an agreement to share and exchange research on biomaterials—defined as substances implanted in the body, such as hip implants, stents, heart valves, wound dressings and systems for delivering genes, drugs and vaccines. The Irish Minister for Health, James Reilly, attended the memorandum of understanding signing by NUIG’s president, Jim Browne, M.D., with the Tianjin International Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine and China Nucleon Medical Technology Group.
The China Nucleon Medical Technology Group is regarded as a pioneer in medical imaging for the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and, according to the University, has “extensive facilities for clinical trials and preclinical drug development throughout China.”
The memorandum of understanding will “facilitate the exchange of researchers, the exchange of academic information and the development of collaborative research projects”, according to NUIG in an August 14 press release. Principal investigator Wenxin Wang, M.D., described the agreement as having enormous potential “for the development of new techniques and treatments and for the commercialization and translation of existing technologies to the clinical environment”.
“China is currently emerging as a major player in biomedical research, and establishing these relationships now will pay ever-increasing dividends in the future, ” he said. Browne noted that such partnerships pointed to Ireland’s “global strength in the biomedical sector and the importance of creating linkages which will be of mutual benefit to industry and enterprise both in Ireland and in China”.
The university already has partnerships in China. The existing agreements are with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Medical Military University Hospital in Xi’an. The university’s Regenerative Medicine Institute, which is involved in stem cell research, also has agreements with the Shanghai Institute for Paediatric Research, Bio-X Institutes and the Tangdu Neurosurgery and Neurology Hospital.
