Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is leading the UK’s medical charities – which between them invest £1 billion in R&D each year – in urging the government to build a supportive infrastructure for medical research that will maximise the impact of the money they invest.
This week CRUK published a report, ‘Building the Ideal Environment for Research’ outlining what it says are the vital elements that must be supplied by the government to enable life sciences to promote economic growth.
The manifesto is CRUK’s bid to influence the shape of a new research and innovation policy that the government is drawing up currently. The charity has considerable weight, with its annual R&D budget of £332 million making it the biggest charitable funder of cancer research in Europe. It not only pays for basic university research into the biological mechanisms underlying cancer, but also supports clinical trials involving 30,000 patients each year.
CRUK says the government must provide the right framework to enable charitable investments in research to be maximised. Without this, the charities’ research outputs cannot make it through into better treatments and commercial products.
According to CRUK, what is needed from the government is “sustained investment hooked to a strategic vision” in order that research can translate into improvements in healthcare.
Lining up behind CRUK are 126 other charities represented by the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), which welcomed the report and supported its proposals. “We urge the government to consider these practical and well-evidenced recommendations [….] as it develops its research and innovation strategy,” said the chair of AMRC, Phil Willis.
Similarly, Peter Weissberg, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation endorsed the report saying, “Our own researchers have told us that despite having potentially the best environment for it in the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out timely and informative clinical research.”
Industry backing
The report’s recommendations also have the backing of the UK biotech sector. Nigel Gaymond, chief executive of the BioIndustry Association (BIA), which represents 246 member companies welcomed the report. “It re-emphasises the need to deliver policies that support collaboration in terms of scientific research and translating that research into market-ready products, Gaymond said.
Publication of the CRUK study coincided with the release of new evidence from the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), showing that overall the UK science budget will be cut by £1.6 billion in 2014 – 2015 compared to 2010, despite a government pledge to maintain spending.
Commenting on the CRUK report, Imran Khan, Director of CaSE said, “The government has to take practical steps to make this country a better place to do research.”
Medical research depends on a complex ecosystem of funders, each responding to different influences, priorities and motivations, the CRUK report says. Given this, the external policy environment can have a significant influence on the strength of research.
The government’s new strategy needs to recognise the contribution made by the full range of medical research funders in the UK, be they charitable, private or public, said Harpal Kumar, CEO of CRUK. He called for the new strategy to “Encourage innovation through supportive infrastructure, a proportionate regulatory regime and ensuring we continue to attract the very best people into medical research.”
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