Funding boost for UK research
pharmafile | March 29, 2010 | News story | Research and Development | Cancer Research UK, MRC, UCL, UKCMRI, Wellcome
Prime minister Gordon Brown has pledged £250 million for the planned UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI).
The new biomedical research institute in central London, which could be up and running towards the end of 2014, is expected to cost £500 million overall and will employ 1,500 staff.
Around £47 million has already been spent by the Medical Research Council (MRC) on the 3.6 acre plot, which is north of the British Library in London and close to several teaching hospitals.
Plans for the UKCMRI, a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the MRC, University College London (UCL) and the Wellcome Trust, were announced last December.
Its aim is to discover and develop treatments for cancers, heart disease, stroke, flu and other infections, and to understand what lies behind these conditions.
The centre is designed to help the UK to compete with research powerhouses such as the US Allston Initiative at Harvard, Shanghai’s Science-based Industrial Park and Biopolis in Singapore.
The government’s cash injection, promised in a speech at the Wellcome Trust, was proof of the government’s commitment to science, the Prime Minister said.
The UKCMRI “will work to deliver the life-saving treatments of tomorrow and translate research discoveries into competitive advantages for the UK economy”, he added.
It would also “help secure Britain’s status as a world-leading destination for medical research” and inspire a new generation of scientists, Brown concluded.
The new funding will be allocated to the MRC by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills after a successful bid for investment.
Although pledged, the sum will be subject to an approval process towards the end of the year, which will look at factors such as ensuring value for money.
“We welcome this confirmation of investment by the Medical Research Council in the vital UKCMRI project,” said Sir David Cooksey, chair of the UKCMRI Steering Group.
“UKCMRI will be focused on enhancing Britain’s position at the forefront of medical research discoveries and translating them into enduring benefit for the patient, for the NHS and for our economy.”
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