New healthcare projects receive funding Biomedical Catalyst

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has announced the projects that will be funded through the eighth round of its successful Biomedical Catalyst scheme.

A total of 12 treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies will receive funding through the programme, with the MRC providing 13 million pounds of the 18 million pound total, with the remainder made up by Innovate UK.

MRC-funded awards in this round range from development of a targeted therapy for inflammatory bowel disease to pre-clinical development of a universal flu vaccine.

This latest round brings the total number of Biomedical Catalyst awards to 318 since 2011, when the project was set up.

Minister for life sciences George Freeman said: “By providing early support to these latest treatment and diagnosis developments, we are not only going to potentially help improve or save lives, we are helping businesses grow and boost the UK's productivity."

The news has been welcomed by the British Medical Association, which believes this will be important in helping to bring the outcomes of research to patients.