University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) has joined forces with a research centre in India in a flagship international research and training programme aimed at developing vital new treatments.

UHB has entered into an agreement with the Gujarat University Cancer Centre and Research Institute (GCRI) to develop a prestigious research programme in clinical and academic haematology.

The programme, which also involves the University of Oxford, aims to collaborate on clinical trials as well as develop joint research projects and training.

Professor Charles Craddock, UHB consultant haematologist, said: “We believe there are very considerable synergies between the clinical and scientific programmes at Birmingham, Oxford and Gujarat and this global partnership will play an important role in the treatment of blood cancers and other malignant diseases.

“It will also allow us to identify and develop shared complementary strengths and skills.

“In Birmingham, we are particularly interested in new drug and transplant therapies in leukaemia."

The collaboration was initiated by Dr Atul Mehta, consultant haematologist at the Royal Free Hospital, London, who has strong links with both the Gujarat centre in Ahmedabad and Oxford.

Tim Jones, Head of Research Development at UHB, said the joint programme offered scope to collaborate on clinical trials as well as develop research projects.

He said: “Both the UK institutions and GCRI recognise the value of training the next generation of clinical and scientific staff to deliver advanced cancer care.

“Thus, all three parties seek to develop a prestigious flagship joint training programme.

“There are clear advantages for all parties, including rapid recruitment, ability of centres to develop new therapeutics, patient access to new drugs and training of clinical staff in clinical research.”

He said the Gujarat centre, based in the M P Shah Hospital that treats 22,000 new cancer patients a year, was keen to develop its own research programme and would benefit from UK expertise.

“Similarly, the large patient population at GCRI provides an opportunity for both UK and GCRI academics to study diseases and conduct studies to improve diagnostics and therapeutics.”

UK staff have particular expertise in red cell disorders, cancer stem cell biology and molecular diagnostics, with Birmingham and Oxford having conducted clinical trials in areas such as acute myeloid leukaemia, bone marrow transplantation and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is now the second largest adult transplant programme in the UK.

A future joint training programme would involve staff from Birmingham and Oxford visiting Gujarat to teach and train medical and laboratory staff, while a fellowship scheme would allow select individuals from India to receive further training in the UK.