Two of the country's top universities have come together to take significant new scientific breakthroughs into the marketplace. James Marley finds out more about the work of the Angel Alliance in turning the research into commercial reality.

WE ALL know someone who has undergone a bout of chemotherapy. Around a third of those undergoing treatment will have been given platinum-containing drugs. They destroy cancerous cells but platinum is toxic, and in large enough quantities, can be dangerous.

It is a delicate balance between the amount of the drug needed to kill tumours and the levels at which a patient is put at risk.

Prof Peter Cumpson at Newcastle University is leading a team working with researchers at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) developing a device to measure the levels of platinum in the blood.

Ultimately, a handheld device could be located at each cancer centre in the country. This would mean more people would receive monitoring than is currently possible. And that would mean more effective doses and potentially more effective cancer treatment.

Prof Cumpson is a surface analyst, or as he puts it: “Essentially I measure things.”

And during a conversation with colleagues at the university’s medical school he realised his expertise could make a difference to the way cancer patients are treated.

He says: “I was talking to some people at the medical school and asked if there was anything they needed to measure. To my surprise they said platinum in blood. Why would there be platinum in blood? I didn’t know. I found out a third of people receiving chemo will be getting platinum-based drugs.

“What we needed was a cheap and quick method of reporting back the level of platinum in the blood,” he says.

“At the moment all cancer centres in the UK send samples to Newcastle for measurement. Then the results are sent back the next day. What we need is a handheld device in every cancer centre. This means the treatment could have the maximum possible effect.”

Renal function is vital to the process of getting the toxicity out of the body. And that means people with poor kidneys need to be measured and monitored very carefully. In many cases these are young children.

Prof Cumpson adds: “With my background as a physicist, it is not often I get to help children with cancer. And often it is small children with poor kidney function who can benefit most from this.

“We are working with a couple of local companies in Gateshead and Redcar who are supplying different bits of kit.”

Dr Gareth Veal from the Northern Institute of Cancer Research said: “What we do is measure the exposure of patients to cancer drugs. What we mean by exposure is the amount circulating in the bloodstream.

“The balance is getting enough of the platinum drugs to the tumour cells without too much toxicity to the patient.

“Clinicians will have more confidence in the doses to give. This could be knowing when to stop to prevent toxicity. But it maybe that the patients get the benefit of receiving a higher dose to treat the cancer more effectively.”

This collaboration is just one of a number of groundbreaking projects at Durham and Newcastle Universities attracting investment to commercialise academic research.

The work being carried out doesn’t fit with the traditional image of the dusty world of academia. It is cutting-edge technology with the potential to change lives.

And with commercial partners, the research is being brought into the market place. That work is being carried out by teams at Durham and Newcastle universities.

But to get to this stage the two institutions have had to collaborate in a groundbreaking partnership.

In the past, they may have been rivals for the same research grants and funding.

But in 2008 Durham and Newcastle joined forces to establish the Angel Alliance. It is all about combining research and resources into commercial success.