The central aim of this book is to bring together a range of academic, industry and practitioner perspectives on translational medicine (TM) to significantly enhance conceptual and practical understanding of the emergence and progress of the field and its potential impact on basic research, therapeutic development, and institutional infrastructure/resources. In recognition of the various implications TM has for public health policy and commercial innovation, this cutting-edge, interdisciplinary book addresses the major systemic aspects of the field. This is important, because rather than focus simply on the basic science and its relation to clinical practice, the chapters in this book explore the dynamic interactions and key challenges in translating new science into viable therapies for the clinic, which crucially includes the recognition of the importance of social, commercial, and regulatory environments in addition to good science.
About the Editors:
James Mittra is a research fellow and lecturer at the ESRC Innogen Centre and Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (STIS) subject group at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. His research focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to the complex and dynamic ways in which the life sciences are affecting the nature and process of technological and therapeutic innovation within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. This research has led to growing interest in the area of translational medicine/research, in the context of both the changing relationship between basic and clinical research, and the emergence of new organizational relationships and regulatory developments that are crucial for the successful translation of new therapeutic discoveries into clinically beneficial products. Dr. Mittra has published widely on issues of the strategic management and governance of the life sciences, as well as on mapping new value systems and business models for novel therapies. He also contributes to the University of Edinburgh’s, and the world’s first, online postgraduate master’s degree in translational medicine.
Christopher-Paul Milne is associate director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD), Massachusetts, which he joined in 1998 as a senior research fellow in order to address legal and regulatory issues. His current research interests include challenges to the R&D of new drugs; innovation capacity in the developing world; incentive programs for pediatric studies, orphan products, and neglected diseases; assessment of the impact of regulatory policy; and study of the progress of new initiatives to improve safety and efficacy and exploratory development such as regulatory science, translational medicine, and personalized medicine. In addition to his role at CSDD, Dr. Milne is research assistant professor at Tufts Medical School, a member of the editorial board of the Food & Drug Law Journal, and an honorary fellow at the University of Edinburgh.
