02.03.11
Research facilities receive £100m funding
The Government has announced a £100m fund to develop new treatments for patients, to be spent at 19 NHS research facilities around the country.
The National Institute for Health Research is funding the scheme, which includes Alder Hey Children’s NHS foundation trust, University Hospitals Birmingham foundation trust and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS foundation trust (CUH).
Visiting research facilities at Birmingham, health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We are seeing not only opportunities in medicine but the ability, increasingly, to link discovery and science directly into new medicines and treatments for patients. These researchers will push forward the boundaries of what is possible. These are the people and the facilities where the very best new treatments will be developed for a huge range of conditions – from cancer to diabetes and heart disease.”
Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer and chief scientific advisor at the Department of Health, said: “These are very exciting times for clinical research in the UK, and this funding is a reflection of the commitment we have to supporting world-class experimental medicine. The clinical research facilities will play a key role in supporting advances in treatments for a wide variety of diseases and supporting collaboration with industry.”
CUH has been awarded funding to extend the facility at Addenbrooke’s hospital, where the money will be used to fund running costs for the facility and a new satellite unit over the next five years.
Professor Krishna, from CUH, said: “It will support clinical research in areas including peanut allergy, developing an artificial pancreas for the treatment of diabetes, understanding obesity, and dementia. We are privileged for this opportunity to translate fundamental research into patient benefit.”
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