Record funding allocation announced for clinical research

The government has announced the allocation of a record 800 million pound funding allocation for clinical research programmes in the UK.

To be invested over five years, the sum is the largest ever investment in early-stage health research and will be used to develop partnerships involving the NHS and universities, via the National Institute for Health Research.

Research organisations will work with industry and charity bodies to create new medicines, treatments and care options, targeting conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

The aim of this initiative is to establish the UK as a world health research leader and improve patient care quality, while also creating jobs and supporting the overall economy.

Prime minister David Cameron said: "This investment will help ensure we continue to be at the cutting edge."

This comes after the government-backed Technology Strategy Board announced in June 2011 that it will be offering financial support for a number of UK-based personalised medicine programmes in the coming months.