UK government announces £50m funding for personalised medicine
15 Oct 2010
The Stratified Medicines Innovation Platform is a new
government initiative providing over £50 million of funding for research
and development in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals for personalised
medicine.
The first competitions for funds, worth up to £11 million, will open
in January 2011.
The Innovation Platform will initially focus on two specific
areas:
- tumour profiling in cancer, with an initial focus on breast,
lung, colorectal, prostate, ovarian and skin cancers and
associated technologies; and
- biomarker implementation to provide validated tests for
predicting responses to marketed drugs, or drugs in development,
in health conditions of clinical and commercial importance to
the UK.
The Technology Strategy Board, together with the Department of
Health, the Scottish Government Health Directorates, the Medical
Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for
Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to bring the government,
researchers and business together in a major initiative that will
place the UK at the centre of a revolution in the diagnosis and
treatment of disease.
Launching the initiative at the Innovate10 networking and
innovation event in London this week, Universities and Science
Minister David Willetts said: "Tailoring medicines to patients is a
key challenge for the $750 billion global pharmaceutical market. The
UK possesses many strengths needed to accelerate the innovation of
stratified medicines and lead the world in developing medicines
targeted at smaller subgroups of patients. Today I am announcing a
major new collaborative programme to bring together the private
sector, researchers and policymakers to achieve this vision and help
to rebalance the economy."
The aim of the new Innovation Platform is to place the UK at the
centre of a new era of molecular-based healthcare by catalysing the
commercial application of new technologies for diagnosing and
treating disease. This will provide business, health and economic
benefits to the UK in a competitive global market. It will also help
the pharma industry to develop an increased number of more effective
drugs targeted at smaller patient groups, the diagnostics industry
to develop further the companion diagnostic tests that underpin
this, and the healthcare providers to improve their cost
effectiveness.
Building on the UK’s commercial and academic strengths, the
assets of the National Health Service and the close liaison between
research and policy, the Stratified Medicines Innovation Platform
will focus initially on therapeutic areas that present a challenge
to healthcare providers, are ready for a stratified approach and
that provide a significant market opportunity.
Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “This
is one of the most important programmes that Cancer Research UK has
ever been involved in. We need to start work now to ensure that the
NHS is ready to deal with the new generation of targeted treatments
that are emerging. Through this project, we’ll have a wealth of
genetic information in two years that could be used to develop the
personalised cancer drugs of the future. Most importantly, cancer
patients will have access to the best possible technology to help
determine which treatments are best for them.”
Richard Barker, Director General of the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) said: "We have campaigned
strongly for the UK to take a leadership role in this new era of
personalised medicine, so we are absolutely delighted that the
Technology Strategy Board is giving this initiative such strong
support. The aim of Stratified (or Personalised) medicines is to use
advanced life science technology to bring the right medicine to the
right patient at the right time. This initiative will address some
of the remaining barriers, such as co-development of medicines and
companion diagnostics, to make this a reality for patients, here and
around the world. It is a great example of the UK's vibrant life
sciences sector pulling together to create growth strategies for
Britain's future."
John Jeans, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of
the Medical Research Council (MRC), said: “The MRC welcomes news of
this major new investment by the Technology Strategy Board.
Targeting treatments to find out which patients are most likely to
benefit is a key issue not just for patients but for the NHS and
healthcare providers globally.
"Building on a joint initiative with the Association of British
Pharmaceutical Industries ABPI, the MRC is working with TSB on the
stratification of treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and rheumatoid arthritis and we look forward to extending
this collaboration under the new Innovation Platform. Establishing
how stratified treatments can best be developed and delivered is an
important role for the innovative and world-leading UK biomedical
research base, helping to make the UK the number one destination for
industry investment.”