Drug safety experts in Liverpool and China plan joint research centre

Researchers from University’s Centre for Drug Safety Science (CDSS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a joint research centre with colleagues at the Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology (SPIDV) in Jinan, China.

The CDSS delivers crucial work to improve patient safety through better understanding of the mechanisms of adverse drug reactions.

The new centre aims to establish a research platform where colleagues from both institutions can share research resources, develop collaborative research projects in drug safety science, secure funding on centre research themes and support training and career development of students and postgraduate researchers. It will facilitate and strengthen potential interactions through clearly defined two-way benefits and foster long-term sustainable research collaborations.

The Liverpool-Shandong partnership was initiated in 2018 following an international exchange scheme award from the Royal Society to explore the mechanistic basis of dapsone hypersensitivity in patients with leprosy.

The University of Liverpool’s Professor Dean Naisbitt was then awarded a distinguished visiting professor by Shandong First Medical University (SDFMU). In 2019, researchers from both institutions were jointly awarded an overseas talent programme to study adverse reactions that target individuals of different ethnic backgrounds. This allowed the team from Liverpool to conduct research on clinical samples that are otherwise unavailable or at a scale unattainable to UK researchers.

The talent programme has been running since 2019, and the collaboration has led to over £2M of research funding and nine joint publications. Over the next three years, the team will continue to collaborate on joint activities including research experiments, staff exchange and joint publications.

Professor Dean Naisbitt from the University of Liverpool’s Centre for Drug Safety Science said: “I am absolutely delighted to establish a joint Centre between Liverpool and Jinan. The agreement provides unique shared access to clinical samples and technologies to explore the mechanistic basis of adverse drug reactions. Outcomes from studies will directly benefit patients suffering from life-threatening adverse drug reactions and support future grant applications for joint UK-China research initiatives. I also look forward to taking an active role in training research scholars through staff and student exchanges.”

The University of Liverpool’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, which houses the CDSS, is one of the oldest and largest in the UK, has an international reputation for understanding all aspects of drug actions from designing and creating novel drugs, running clinical trials on new drugs, through to improving the use of existing drugs.

For its excellent work to improve the safety and effectiveness of medicines, the department was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2017, one of the most prestigious awards in higher education.

Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology (SPIDV) is affiliated to Shandong First Medical University. The Institute is a pioneer in research into the best treatments of leprosy and venereal disease control. With its excellent reputation in the field of skin disease diagnosis and treatment, SPIDV has become a referral centre for the treatment of difficult and critical skin diseases in the province and surrounding provinces, including leprosy, hereditary diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, autoimmune bullous diseases, psoriasis, and severe drug eruptions. The Institute has been awarded the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, and the first prize of the Shandong Province Natural Science Award.