FAQs

What do you mean by the term ‘clinical academic researcher’?

For the purposes of this scheme a ‘clinical academic researcher’ is a researcher who is a qualified medical doctor engaged in drug discovery translational research.

Who gets the intellectual property (IP) rights to my work?

All IP is retained by the University. The scholars and their institution maintain full rights and ownership of their pre-existing IP and any newly generated IP and are under no obligations with respect to the decisions they make. 

How does this programme interface with Oxford University Innovation? 

Oxford University Innovation Ltd is the University’s Technology Transfer Office and scholars will be expected to work with Oxford University Innovation and Harrington Discovery Institute’s Innovation Support Center to disclose and review the potential of any arising IP. Where there is a good rationale for protecting arising intellectual property Oxford University Innovation will be responsible for filing patent applications, in consultation with the scholars and with Harrington Discovery Institute’s Innovation Support Center. The parties will agree and support a suitable development and commercialisation strategy for the intellectual property.

What funding is eligible to demonstrate the £60k match?

Any external funding or internal departmental funds are eligible to demonstrate the £60k match. The key criteria are that you can demonstrate that you have at least £60k of existing funding available to take forward the aims of the project. For example, a PI may have an existing Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award that has already started where a translational workstream is included in the project plan. This work could be proposed as the Oxford-Harrington Scholar project.

Is market size or indication an important consideration?

Not per se. This call values discoveries and drugs that address unmet needs both for indications with large patient populations and in orphan indications. The call is disease agnostic.

Do I need to have a drug or biologic candidate in hand?

No. Typical projects may have hits or leads that are not yet candidates, however studies aimed at identification and/or validation of novel molecular targets are also of interest. Please note that pathway analyses, expression profiling, and similar projects should be specifically focused on target discovery and validation rather than on cataloguing, correlating, or description. If the study provides strong evidence that modulation of a specific molecular target may provide therapeutic benefit, then the project falls within scope.

Are you interested in biomarkers and/or diagnostics?

Not per se. Biomarkers are of interest as part of a therapeutic development program as a means to identify appropriate patients (“companion diagnostics”) or monitor drug effects in human trials.

Are you interested in drug-device combinations?

Such projects will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If the therapeutic benefit results primarily from the drug component, the project is of interest. If the benefit is due primarily to the device with the drug serving a secondary role (e.g. an antibacterial coating for an implant), the project may be considered if highly novel or addressing a major unmet need.

Does the project proposed need to be a new project? 

No, you may wish to include a workstream that already has some external funding. 

Can I propose a joint application with two PIs?

No, there must be one PI but you can name co-investigators.   

Can I name co-investigators from other institutions?

Yes.