The Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation (TCOLF), created in 2010, allows independent researchers to access GSK R&D facilities, resources and expertise to help them advance their own research focused on medicines for endemic infectious diseases.
The Foundation is overseen by a Governing Board of leading scientists and provides funding and support to researchers to help them develop and advance ideas that could lead to new medicines to treat endemic infectious diseases.
Researchers supported by the Foundation are encouraged to share their work to ensure their discoveries are also available to other researchers. With over 100 projects in the portfolio, the partnership between GSK and the TCOLF is catalysing the field by delivering validation of novel therapeutic modalities, promising lead optimisation programs, scientific publications and leveraged funding from third party agencies.
TCOLF occupies a unique space combining funding with access to industrial facilities and expertise. Thanks to the GSK-TCOLF partnership, laboratory space at the GSK Global Health R&D site at Tres Cantos (Spain) has been made available for external scientists providing them with the opportunity of working at the campus for a dedicated period, accessing GSK drug discovery, pre-clinical expertise and capabilities.
Colocation of Open Lab fellows and GSK scientists has been shown to be key to create highly effective scientific collaborations and maximises the opportunity to tap into the available industrial facilities and expertise.