The government is sinking a further £13.7 million into four new stratified medicine collaborations funded by the Medical Research Council, which aim to develop more targeted treatments for a wide range of diseases.
The four new awards bring the total of stratified medicine consortia funded by the MRC to thirteen with investment totalling over £52 million – part of the government’s £130 million commitment to stratified medicine set out in the UK Life Sciences Strategy.
According to the MRC, the thirteen collaborations have attracted more than fifty small, medium and large pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners from across the UK, Europe, the US and further afield, including China and Japan, as well as thirty-two academic partners and a number of charities.
“Bringing together UK universities, the NHS and commercial partners, these collaborations will investigate targeted treatments that will benefit patients with cancer, heart disease, asthma and lupus,” Life Sciences minister George Freeman said, announcing the new investment.
“As part of our strategy for the life sciences we are bringing together industry with the assets and capabilities of researchers in universities and the NHS to revolutionise the way we look at getting better treatments into the health service and make sure that the UK remains one of the best places in the world for 21st Century medical innovation,” he noted.
