BIOTECHS SEE THE LIGHTS
The research community in the United Kingdom and Europe has a shiny new toy to play with, the biggest major facility built in the country for over 30 years. The Diamond Light Source (DLS), on the Harwell Chilton science campus not far from Oxford University, accepted its first research teams in February when early users of the first seven beam lines of the new synchrotron shipped in their experiments. Those first scientists come from the academic community. DLS plans to open its doors to business experiments later this year. Companies will be able to bid for free access to DLS for nonproprietary work destined for publication in the open literature, and industry can buy access for private work, too, but that will be limited to a total of 10% of Diamond's time.
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies will be among the early industry users. But if DLS is to supplant other synchrotrons in the affections of businesses, it might have to come up with more flexible ways of working, says Malcolm Skingle, academic liaison director at GlaxoSmithKline. "There is a buyer's market for synchrotrons," says Skingle, who is also chairman of the Diamond Industrial Science Committee (DISCo). DLS is competing with nearly 50 light sources, he adds. For example, like many companies, GSK uses the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.
The challenge, says Skingle, is "how we can make Diamond the most user friendly synchrotron in the world." This is where DISCo, which includes representatives from aerospace, materials, and petrochemicals, as well as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, hopes to play a role. A part of its remit is to "develop best practice for industrial engagement with Diamond."
The new synchrotron appeals to industrial users for the same reason that academics are vying for access. Diamond, the brightest light source available, is more than 10,000 times brighter than the UK's current synchrotron light source at Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire, which is operated by the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC). The UK government contributed 86% of the cost of DLS through CCLRC. The Wellcome Trust picked up the rest of the bill.
It was only after a significant political row that Diamond landed in Oxfordshire where it sits alongside the UK's major neutron source, ISIS, which is also a part of the CCLRC. Many saw Daresbury, near Manchester in the north if England, as the natural home for the UK's next synchrotron. But pressure from the Wellcome Trust is said to have prompted the shift south.
One reason for the controversial decision to build Diamond near Oxford was the concentration of high-tech businesses, especially biotech companies. Being close to Diamond means faster research, and that matters to companies like Evotec, a small-molecule company just three miles away. "If you are running a drug discovery program," explains John Barker, Evotec's head of crystallography and computational chemistry, "your chemists want data sooner rather than later." Evotec plans to use DSL to study fragments of potential drugs. "We will be doing a lot of fragment work on Diamond," says Brown. This is possible because of the quality of the crystallography data that DLS will deliver.
The first phase of Diamond was completed on schedule and to cost, rare achievements in major projects in the UK. The £260 million investment included the construction of the building, the synchrotron, and the first seven beam lines. These cover research in macromolecular crystallography, materials and magnetism, microfocus spectroscopy, extreme conditions, and nanoscience. A second development phase, costing a further £120 million, will add 15 more beam lines. Future expansion, as yet not costed or scheduled, will add four or five beams a year until Diamond has 30 to 35 research stations.
Dave Stuart, head of structural biology at the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics at Oxford, is among one of the first researchers on the macromolecular-crystallography beam line. Stuart will use Diamond's X-rays to elucidate the structure of a protein molecule that is implicated in the development of diseases such as cancer.
Skingle is a little disappointed that industry will not have access to the new synchrotron much before the end of the year. However, he hopes to use the time during the fine-tuning period for DISCo to steer Diamond toward "a much friendlier system" for industrial users. To begin with, DLS, like most existing synchrotrons, will sell commercial access on the basis of eight-hour shifts. However, DLS also plans to introduce more flexible arrangements.
The aim is to introduce what Barker describes as FedEx style data collection. With synchrotrons moving toward standardized mounting systems for samples, he explains, companies can send samples to a light source for technicians to process. "The quality of the service [the technicians] will give is going to be as good as they give anywhere in the world," says Barker.
Diamond might even provide limited free access so that users can see if they could benefit from it. This approach could be especially helpful to smaller biotech companies, who might not have the same level of in-house expertise as large pharmaceutical companies. Such companies, says Barker, still have the same need as Big Pharma for crystallography data that can help them to understand the chemistry of their molecules.
Pfizer also hopes to use the DLS. David Brown, an associate research fellow with Pfizer Global Research & Development in Sandwich, UK, says that synchrotrons are important tools in the development of new pharmaceuticals. Brown, who is also member of DISCo, wants to use DLS to study the crystal structure of drug candidates. "Pfizer globally uses a lot of synchrotron time but this has become a buyers market," says Brown. "Hopefully, Diamond will deliver one of the best beam lines and services for the UK and global community."
