£74 million boost for patient-centred health research
11 May 2005
Funding of £74 million for UK experimental medicine was announced today. Experimental medicine brings together laboratory and clinical patient-based research to answer important questions about health and disease. The resulting knowledge can then be used to speed up the development of new treatments to benefit patients.
Working together as partners in the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, the Department of Health, and the Scottish Executive Health Department have committed funding for a new co-ordinated initiative in experimental medicine.
This initiative combines research infrastructure, the NHS and research to build the capacity for expanding experimental medicine.
To strengthen clinical research in the UK, the Wellcome Trust and the Wolfson Foundation are jointly providing £30 million for the development of new technologies in experimental medicine and Clinical Research Facilities: purpose-built environments where universities and hospital trusts work together on a dedicated programme of patient-orientated research.
The second part of this initiative invites applications for experimental medical research. The MRC is committing £15 million for research to promote the translation of laboratory research into clinical practice for the benefit of patients.
