Patients across the country are set to benefit from innovative new treatments and improved healthcare delivery after significant funding to support pioneering experimental medicine research and strengthen the UK’s response to patient safety challenges.
The government announced today (Friday 14 October) that more than £800 million of funding, to be allocated by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will go to support specialist research facilities that bring scientists together to create an experimental environment in them. Medical research and patient safety can thrive.
This boost to the country’s research infrastructure will see further investment in scientific expertise that supports access to innovative technology and new research projects. Additionally, it will improve regional economic growth through employment opportunities, giving private sector organizations the confidence to continue investing in research across the country.
Nearly £790m has been awarded to 20 National Institute of Human Rights Biomedical Research Centers (BRCs) across England – including a new center in Exeter – over the next five years to drive innovation in disease diagnosis and treatment across a diverse range. of high priority disease areas including cancer, mental health and dementia.
In addition, £25 million is awarded over the next five years to six National Institute of Human Rights Patient Safety Research Centers (PSRCs) to help better understand and solve patient safety challenges. The funding will support research to improve incident reporting and investigations, digital innovations to improve patient safety and harness learning from service adaptation during the COVID pandemic.
The funding will be distributed across the country, with more than £260 million invested outside London, Oxford and Cambridge. This will increase coverage of experimental medicine across England and override the government’s previous commitments in the Leveling Up White Paper. Not only will this enable more areas to benefit from innovation and facilitate rapid uptake as research is conducted, but it will help improve health care services across the country and reduce health disparities through better understanding and treatment of disease and improved delivery of care.
Minister of Health and Social Welfare and Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey said:
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of our burgeoning research sector and the potential it has to not only enhance health and care services, but lead to life-saving developments.
This additional funding will harness UK-leading innovation globally and allow research centers across the country to attract experts in their field and conduct research that saves lives.
From helping develop a Covid vaccine to discovering the world’s first treatments, these centers have already provided ground-breaking research and will continue to help us tackle some of our biggest health challenges, including cancer, to ensuring that the NHS continues to deliver class-based care.”
Over the past nine years, NIHR BRCs have supported nearly 60,000 research studies in the field of experimental medicine. This has resulted in direct health benefits for patients, including advances in innovative and faster diagnosis, as well as:
- Development of the Oxford AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine – the world’s first approved vaccine – and support for the RECOVERY trial – the world’s largest trial of potential treatments for Covid.
- A promising new treatment for motor neuron disease that’s been shown to be safe and well-tolerated and can help slow the progression of symptoms in people with a genetic form of the disease.
- A new gene therapy that could be a pioneering treatment for patients with hemophilia – a genetic defect that affects the body’s ability to stop bleeding.
- A study supports reduced exposure to radiotherapy for women with breast cancer, which reduces damage to healthy tissues in the body and reduces subsequent side effects.
Over the past nine years, NIHR’s Medical Research Centers have supported more than 800 patient safety research studies. They have led improvements in the safety of health and care services, for example:
- Using artificial intelligence to detect breast cancer from mammograms.
- Reducing medication errors in primary care settings.
- Develop programs to improve patient safety culture in NHS hospitals.
- Develop guidelines for involving patients and their families in investigations of serious accidents.
The Secretary of State for Health, Robert Jenrick, said:
Clinical research has been vital in our fight against Covid and UK innovation is enabling us to transform our health services and ensure they are at the forefront of health and care.
Our NIHR Clinical Research infrastructure provides critical access to expertise in designing and delivering high-quality, innovative research to the life sciences industry. This supports companies to conduct their clinical studies of new treatments in the UK for patients and the public benefit and increases the UK’s global market share.
We continue to build on our world-leading achievements to find new treatments and better disease prognosis as well as a better understanding of how to improve patient safety.”
Professor Lucy Chappelle, CEO of the National Institute of Human Rights, said:
This massive investment in early-stage health and care research and patient safety innovation acknowledges the strength of expertise in these areas across the country, and gives our top researchers more opportunities to improve care and treatment for patients nationwide.
These investments demonstrate our scientific excellence, ensuring that the UK benefits from the latest innovations and developments in research and enables a strong and competitive research workforce to further develop. They are essential to ensure patients receive the highest quality and safety of care.”
Investing in NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centers and Patient Safety Research Collaboration research will increase economic growth and build a healthier and resilient nation.
More broadly, these centers will enhance the resources and facilities for research across the NHS by having access to experts at the forefront of their fields. A key feature of the centers is the collaboration between academics, clinicians, patients and the life sciences industry.
Patient safety research cooperatives will support the NHS to improve patient safety and reduce health disparities, while biomedical research centers will help advance advances in medical treatments and technology and enhance our ability to diagnose and treat diseases.
Basic information
- This funding is for two separate types of research centers.
- NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centers are partnerships between healthcare professionals and academics at the nation’s leading NHS institutions and universities. This is the fourth round of funding for the NIHR BRC. More information about BRCs can be found here: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/explore-nihr/support/experimental-medicine.htm
- The NIHR PSRC scheme provides funding for NHS/university partnerships following an open competition launched in November 2021. Areas of research have been focused through engagement with a range of stakeholders including NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), a Quality Committee care (CQC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
- The BRCs receiving funding are:
- NIHR Barts BRC
- National Human Rights Institute Birmingham BRC
- NIHR Bristol BRC
- NIHR Cambridge BRC
- National Human Rights Institute Exeter BRC
- NIHR GOSH BRC
- NIHR Imperial BRC
- National Human Rights Institute Leeds BRC
- NIHR Leicester BRC
- NIHR Manchester BRC
- National Human Rights Institute The Royal Marsden BRC
- National Human Rights Institute Moorfields BRC
- NIHR Newcastle BRC
- NIHR Nottingham BRC
- NIHR Oxford BRC
- NIHR Oxford Health BRC
- NIHR Sheffield BRC
- National Institute of Human Rights Maudsley BRC
- National Human Rights Institute Southampton BRC
- NIHR University College London BRC Hospitals
- Resettlement Support Centers that receive funding are:
- NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSRC
- NIHR Newcastle PSRC
- NIHR Greater Manchester PSRC
- National Institute of Human Rights Midland PSRC
- NIHR Central London PSRC
- NIHR North West London PSRC
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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