Trinity to headquarter new €31.6 million Research Ireland ARC Hub for Therapeutics

Posted on: 12 February 2025

The ARC Hub for Therapeutics is one of two announced today, along with ARC Hub for ICT, led by Prof. Sarah Jane Delany of TU Dublin. 

James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, said: “The Research Ireland ARC Hubs for Therapeutics and ICT represent a new model for regional innovation and entrepreneurial training that will catalyse a step-change in the translation of cutting-edge, publicly-funded research towards impact at a regional level. The ARC Hubs will enhance and accelerate the commercialisation of research to create new products, processes and services.” 

Vincent Kelly, Professor in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology, will direct the ARC Hub for Therapeutics, which will be headquartered in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute. Prof. Kelly said: “We are delighted to announce the establishment of the ARC Hub for Therapeutics and very proud to headquarter it in Trinity.

“Along with our consortium partners, UCD and RCSI, we look forward to fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and to supporting researchers across Ireland in taking highly promising therapeutics research and delivering transformative new products, processes and services to market.

“There is a tremendous talent pool among researchers in Ireland working within therapeutics-related fields and we hope the new Hub will help more and more of them to deliver myriad innovations that will leave an indelible impact across the globe – providing treatments for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and exploiting a whole range of advanced treatments options including vaccines, cellular therapies and gene-therapies in addition to the traditional small molecule drug approaches.”

Left-right: Ena Walsh, Case Manager, Knowledge Transfer, UCD; Kate Robson Brown, VP for Research, Innovation & Impact, UCD, Prof. William Gallagher, UCD School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science; Prof. Leonie Young, Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences; James Lawless TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Dr Michelle Olmstead, Chief Innovation and Enterprise Officer, Trinity College Dublin;  Prof. Vincent Kelly, School of Biochemistry & Immunology, Trinity College Dublin; Michael Horgan, Chair, Research Ireland; Helen Kearns, Head of Media, Communication and Outreach at European Commission Dublin Representation; Emma O’Neill, Life Sciences Case Manager, Trinity Innovation & Enterprise, Trinity College Dublin; Dr Derek John, Technology Transfer Case Manager at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences; and David Kelly, Director of Southern Regional Assembly. The ARC Hub for Therapeutics is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.

Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity, said: “I am delighted that Trinity will headquarter the new Research Ireland ARC Hub for Therapeutics. This exciting development is a testament to the university’s exceptional research and its ongoing commitment to innovation. I wish Prof. Vincent Kelly and the entire team the very best on this transformative journey toward advancing therapeutic research and making a meaningful impact on healthcare.”

Dr Michelle Olmstead, Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer at Trinity, added: “The Arc Hub for Therapeutics is a much welcomed acceleration of the drug development and discovery ecosystem.  Led by Trinity College Dublin, through Vincent Kelly, with colleagues from UCD and RCSI, the hub provides a unique opportunity for Ireland to bring therapeutics to the market with a broader societal impact.

“We are delighted that Trinity is hosting the Hub and, with our partners at UCD and RCSI, look forward to supporting researchers from across the island in ensuring their world-class research makes the fullest possible impact.”  

As with the ICT Hub, the ARC Hub for Therapeutics has a translational research budget, which will be used to support researchers who have identified novel research opportunities that can be accelerated towards rapid commercial impact.

In addition to those projects approved as part of the application for funding, the translational research budget may support follow-on funding for successful projects, as well as being used to support new projects during the lifetime of the Hub that are deemed to be high quality research projects with commercial potential.

Deputy Academic Director of the ARC Hub for Therapeutics, Professor William Gallagher from UCD, said: “We, at UCD, are delighted to partner with our good colleagues at Trinity College Dublin and RCSI to co-lead this exciting new initiative of national importance. The ARC Hub for Therapeutics provides a critical bridge between original discoveries in the life sciences and downstream novel therapeutic applications. It allows targeted and timely investments to be made to fast-track therapeutic innovations towards commercialisation and clinical utility, across a wide variety of disease areas.”

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at RCSI,commented: "RCSI is proud to play a key role in this initiative, contributing its clinical and scientific expertise in therapeutics research and development. With a strong track record in drug discovery and translational medicine, RCSI is committed to bridging the gap between academic research and clinical application.

“Our expertise in understanding disease mechanisms, developing advanced therapeutics, combined with close ties to clinical practice, will ensure that the ARC Hub drives pioneering advancements in therapeutics. Through this partnership with Trinity and UCD, we will support Irish researchers in bringing academic innovations to the clinic and the global biopharma market, ultimately delivering real benefits for patients.” 

Welcoming the announcement, Research Ireland’s Interim CEO, Celine Fitzgerald, commented: “The Research Ireland ARC Hub Programme is a gamechanger in terms of driving regional development through commercialisation of research. The two ARC Hubs unveiled today – Therapeutics and ICT respectively – will create regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in two critically important sectors for the Irish economy. Accelerating the overall journey to impact will be achieved by enabling researchers with novel ideas to become future entrepreneurs, with the Hubs providing an integrated approach to research funding, entrepreneurial training and access to networks and supports.” 

The ARC Hubs programme is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union under two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Regional Programmes – the Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027 and the Northern and Western Regional Programme 2021-2027.

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