Women’s health: cancer cures and contraception

Why does it take so long for newly discovered drugs to reach patients? A co-inventor of rucaparib, a new drug for ovarian cancer licenced in June 2018, will describe the discovery process that started in 1993. The talk will describe how an initial idea is developed into a medicine for patient use. Not only is science important in drug discovery but also intellectual property law, funding and extensive clinical trials. It is estimated that only 1 in 5000 drug candidates discovered in a research laboratory eventually gain a licence. This talk will describe the highs and lows of one example.

Come and learn about an exciting new project which could revolutionalise the way contraceptives are used. We are creating a new contraceptive patch using ‘microneedle’ technology. But before we can develop the patch we needed to learn more about family planning methods and cultures in countries where access to medicines and healthcare services can be severely limited. We will show how our challenging yet fun visits to Uganda and The Gambia have captured ‘end user' feedback which will drive the science to deliver a new family planning solution to meet the needs of those who need it most.