Topic Review - Newest First (only newest 5 are displayed)

ramazan577

Plans to boost medical research

They include the establishment of a National Institute for Health Research and 10 academic medical centres of excellence around the country.

This is hoped to attract up to £1bn of private sector investment to aid the development of new drugs.

A computer database will be set up to allow researchers to draw on the experiences of NHS patients.

State funding will also be provided for 250 academic fellowships and 100 clinical lecture training opportunities a year.
Government funding for stem cell research will double to £100m over the next two years.

And regulations will be streamlined to try to free the research community of unnecessary red tape.

The package was unveiled on Friday at a Treasury conference on Advancing Enterprise.

Mr Brown said the NHS had pioneered some great medical breakthroughs, including the first test tube baby and the first combined liver and bone marrow transplant.
He said the new plans would strengthen research in the UK still further.

Radical plans

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "Health research provides us with the means to tackle the increasing challenges which disease and ill-health are placing on our society.

"It also plays a key role in the knowledge economy of our country through its contribution to international competitiveness and economic growth.
"Without a vibrant health research system, England's ability to deliver on this agenda will be severely compromised.

"That is why the government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world for health research, development and innovation."

"The changes proposed are radical. However, we believe that they are essential to create health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals, working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research, focused on the needs of patients and the public."
Sir David Cooksey, chairman of the Industry Reference Group of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC), said the initiatives were vital to reverse a recent decline in clinical research in the UK.

He predicted that the reforms could result in additional investment in research by the private sector of £500m in the next few years, rising to £1bn in the medium to long term.



[Edited by docosama on 08-11-2008 at 10:15 AM GMT]