Survival Kit VII. Co-operation with South Moravian Institutions International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC) of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno

International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC) of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno

The International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC) is a medical research centre focusing on finding new methods, technologies and medicaments for prevention, diagnostics and treatment of cardiovascular, neurological and selected oncological diseases and disorders. These are among the most widespread diseases and causes of death in modern society. Thanks to its innovative approach, proactive teams, cutting-edge technologies and international collaborations, FNUSA-ICRC has become a multidisciplinary center of excellence in translational medical research already few years after the official opening in 2011. The Centre is a part of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno (FNUSA).

RESEARCH

The research is based on the cooperation of experts within international multidisciplinary teams. Some researchers also work as doctors at the St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno, others at the Faculty of Medicine or the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University.

Clinical research is primarily focused on the development of new technologies, methods, procedures and drugs enabling effective prevention, early diagnosis and individualized treatment of selected diseases and disorders. Translational research translates the basic mechanisms of disease development into clinical practice and vice versa. Basic research studies the properties of stem cells and examines key processes for the selective manipulation of stem cells for possible use in modern medicine. Service laboratories are advanced laboratories for experimental medicine and translational research. FNUSA-ICRC currently has 31 research teams divided into 4 research sections:

Clinical Research
- Clinical cardiology
- Clinical neurology
- Oncological Research
- Multidisciplinary Research
- Research incubator
Translational research
Basic research
Core Facilities

RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE

FNUSA-ICRC purchased approximately 1,000 new, often state-of-the art, pieces of equipment in 2012-2015 using EU and national grants. Infrastructure available for research includes for example:

Angiographic line for interventional cardiology
Optical coherence tomography
Electrophysiology laboratory
Stereotaxis magnetic catheter navigation technology for both preclinical and clinical research
Sleep medicine laboratory
Laboratories for measurement of highly sensitive biological signals
Acquisition and monitoring system for synchronized recording of various biological signals
Neurological “bi-plane” angiography unit
Automatic cell imaging system with high throughput
Cellular imaging laboratory
Laboratory of cellular separations and cultures
Laboratory for cytomics, proteomics and genomics
Flow cytometer and cell sorter, magnetic cell separator and automatic cell analyzer
Confocal laser scanning microscope and laser micro dissection microscope
Mass spectrometer and spectrophotometer
Magnetic resonance imaging technologies for preclinical and clinical research
Ultrasound systems for preclinical and clinical research
Clinical pharmacology unit equipped with fully-monitoring beds
CGMP facility for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing

RESEARCH RESULTS

FNUSA-ICRC’s research activities began in mid-2011 and more than 1,200 scientific articles and 39 applied results have been published in the last five years. Among the most important are four granted patents - two US and two national - which are specified below, unique software tools for research on Alzheimer’s disease, acute stroke, prediction of the effects of mutations on human health, etc. Overview of applied results by species:

Patents: 4
Utility model / Industrial design: 10
Prototype / Functional sample 17
Proven technology 5
Software 5

Other selected applied results:

These the results are based on interdisciplinary cooperation with a national and international impact:

A new ablation tool for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias
Device for more accurate localization of the epileptic lesion in the brain
Equipment for testing new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases
Diagnostic kit for the detection of histones in the blood as an indicator of various diseases
Method of using nanoparticles for the treatment of oncological diseases
New device for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias by electroporation
National Registry of Patients with Duchenne / Berger Muscular Dystrophy
National Registry of Patients with Achondroplasia
Moravian Bank of Reprogrammed Stem Cells
Software for predicting the effect of mutations on human health
Equipment for testing the effectiveness of substances for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Software for testing the effectiveness of substances for the treatment of stroke
Substance for the treatment of osteoarthritis

INTERNATIONAL TEAM

FNUSA-ICRC has attracted researchers and students from 28 countries to Brno with the aim to build and develop international research teams. Approximately 24 % of employees come from abroad. Several international training projects for physicians, scientists, students and healthcare staff have run under FNUSA-ICRC. These include both short- and long-term study stays at prestigious foreign institutions and visits by foreign specialists to Brno to share their experience and participate in research projects. Foreign students of medicine, life sciences and biomedical engineering come to Brno for internships at ICRC.

ACADEMIC PARTNERS

ICRC co-operates with a number of renowned foreign institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, University of California San Diego, Yale Medical School (USA), Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), University of Calgary (Canada), University of South Florida (USA) and others. Prominent Czech institutions are involved as well. They include Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, the Institute of Biophysics and Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Veterinary Research Institute and others.

COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY

Part of the responsible research center is the protection of the results of science and research applicable in practice for the purposes of their future commercialization. These activities are coordinated by the Technology Transfer Department. The main activities in this area include monitoring research activities and new knowledge, evaluating commercial potential, ensuring the protection of intellectual property to the results, providing contractual documents, promoting the results to potential target users, as well as consulting in this area.

Technology Transfer Department developed cooperation with manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices and established new relationships with commercial and non-commercial entities in the form of applied research projects. FNUSA-ICRC managed to conclude contracts with domestic and foreign partners from the application sphere. These collaborations were implemented mainly in the form of contracts for contract research and custom research. In addition, one patent and four utility models, one proven technology, four functional samples, three software and three prototypes were granted in 2019. Most of these applied results were created in the TAČR GAMA project, where FNUSA-ICRC is the sole owner, which is one of the leading prerequisites for successful commercialization.

In 2019, a total of 180 commercial clinical trials took place, of which 162 clinical trials of drugs, 14 clinical trials of medical devices and in cases partial examinations were performed within clinical trials conducted in other institutions.

BEC – Brno Expat Centre JIC – South Moravian Innovation Centre

International Clinical Research Center
St. Anne´s University Hospital in Brno
Pekařská 53, Brno 656 91, Czech Republic
www.fnusa-icrc.org, icrc@fnusa.cz