Cancer Research UK has confirmed The CRUK City of London Centre, led by Professor Tariq Enver (UCL Cancer Institute), will continue to research and develop pioneering new biotheraputics, as part of a new £100 million investment.
The CRUK City of London Centre was launched in 2018, bringing together world leading researchers from UCL, King's College London, Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute.
Following an initial £14m CRUK funding, the Centre has enabled better collaboration between scientists and medics, and focused on developing biotherapeutics, a pioneering field of cancer research, that is helping transform the way we approach hard to treat cancers.
By working with NHS trusts with the UCL Partners and Kings Health Partners portfolio - including London’s flagship hospitals UCLH, BARTs, the Royal Free and Kings College Hospital - the CRUK City of London Centre, enables millions of patients across the capital access to the very latest innovations in biological cancer therapies.
From 1 April, CRUK will be investing £100 million over five years into seven Cancer Research UK Centres across the UK.
Professor Tariq Enver, Director of UCL Cancer Institute and Co-Director of the CRUK City of London Centre, said: “Biotherapeutics are at the forefront of next-generation cancer treatments, offering enormous potential to transform how we approach the hardest to treat cancers like brain tumours and lung cancer.
“Since its launch the Centre has become real catalyst of scientific collaboration and innovation, bringing together life scientists, clinicians, physicists, chemists, engineers and mathematicians – all trying to tackle the disease in new and innovative ways.
“This has helped accelerate the development of some of the most promising cancer treatments in the world and by working with our flagship partner hospitals in London, many patients have been benefited from these new and improved biological therapies.
“We are delighted with CRUK’s new investment in the Centre, which will allow us to continue our high impact research and build on London’s status as global centre of excellence in biotherapeutics.”
Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Research UK, said: “The seven funded Centres are central to our ambition to beat cancer, providing a key link between laboratory research and patient-focused studies.”
CRUK awards Centre status to locations that perform the highest quality cancer research, with its funding supporting essential research infrastructure including technical staff, equipment, pump-priming grants, and training, to further develop the breadth and depth of research at each of these Centres.
This article was first published on 31 January by UCL.
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