£112.5 million is being made available by government so that the most cutting-edge early stage research projects can take place in the UK. The five year funding is part of the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) investment in Clinical Research Facilities for early stage research.
The money will be spent on infrastructure funding so that world class experimental research can be translated into scientific advances for the benefit of patients
The current contracts which fund 19 existing facilities run out in March 2017 and the new funding will provide around £22.5 million every year until 2022.
Life Sciences Minister George Freeman MP said:
It's essential that NHS patients benefit from cutting edge 21st Century clinical research, providing new treatments and better diagnosis. Thanks to the Government's annual investment of over £1 billion into the National Institute for Health Research, we are ensuring NHS patients get the very latest treatments.
The Clinical Research Facilities are currently providing a range of important studies across the country. Some of the centres to receive investment through the last round of funding included:
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who used their funding to support research into neurodegenerative diseases such as motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s disease. They also conducted research exploring new ways to prevent stroke, and developing vaccines for meningitis.
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who used some of their funding to support research into peanut allergies, which affect one in fifty children in the UK. People with peanut allergies can suffer severe reactions - and even die - if they come into contact with peanuts. The Cambridge team have been researching ways of permanently curing people who suffer from these allergies.
- Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, in Liverpool, who used their funding to support early-stage trials of new drugs for children with diseases including cancer, arthritis and asthma.
The funding competition for 2017 is now live and is expected to be open until June 2016.
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