The Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation (TCOLF) is unlike any other. At its core is the notion of change, of experimentation and innovation. Everyone who is involved in the Foundation - and all those who work at the Open Lab at Tres Cantos - share the belief in the need for an open-access, fresh-thinking and pragmatic approach to old problems.
The Governing Board, drawn from around the globe, share the view that the old ways of drug discovery were not going to solve the many issues around creating medicines for endemic infectious diseases.
They recognised that a shortcut was needed; a place where new ideas could be supported and rapidly tested. They knew progress would come faster by ensuring the outcomes of these experiments would be shared openly to the benefit of all working in the field.
As such, TCOLF believes in the need to be proactive at incorporating the diversity element as a key lever of maximizing its impact. It is acknowledged that this is challenging and requires proactivity to be achieved. There is a clear commitment, focused in three areas
Everyone involved in the work of the Open Lab - from the Principal Investigators putting forth proposals, to the mentors on campus that provide project mentoring and oversight, to the research scientists doing the work - are united by the fact that this is an opportunity that’s never existed before. And because the opportunity is unique, they give it their all.
Just as all scientists and academics in the field, those involved with the Open Lab are galvanised by the possibility that their work could be the catalyst that leads to a new medicine. The reality is that the Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation provides a practical solution, providing funding, access to the resources, facilities and know-how to take that work one step further down the process of drug discovery.
It started as an idea, and it’s now a reality that the scientific community is embracing in the hope that this innovative approach will one day create medicines that save millions of lives.