This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
UK could lose up to £7.8bn of medical research funding
The IPPR think tank has reported that the UK could lose up to £7.8 billion of investment in lifesaving research by 2027 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest analysis predicts that UK charities are set to lose 38 per cent of their fundraising income this year and over 25 per cent next year, which will dramatically affect how much they can invest in research. The £7.8 billion figure is £1 in every £10 of UK medical research spend.
According to the IPPR, charities provide the foundation for private investment, with the UK’s medical research charities acting as a long-standing draw for global businesses.
The £7.8 figure is the combined effect of the pandemic on medical research charities and the private sector. Broken down, the UK faces up to £4.1 billion less being invested in health research by medical research charities and up to £3.8 billion lost due to less investment from the private sector, with £1.3 billion of that figure coming as a knock-on effect of reduced charity investment.
It is also worth noting that the But the impact of research cuts goes further than medical research charities not being able to fund as much life-saving research as we need to. We could also be facing countless missed opportunities to work with industry to develop new diagnostics and treatments for future patients.”
£7.8 billion figure is a reasonable worst-case scenario, highlighting what could happen if medical research charities aren’t supported to get back on their feet and echoing estimates from other sources. Meanwhile, Cancer Research UK has already been forced to cut £44 million of planned research because of the pandemic.
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: “The enormity of the loss of funding predicted by IPPR is equivalent to supporting 55,000 PhD students – the future generation of leaders in areas like cancer research – or keeping all four of Cancer Research UK’s cutting-edge research institutes running for almost 30 years. But the impact of research cuts goes further than medical research charities not being able to fund as much life-saving research as we need to. We could also be facing countless missed opportunities to work with industry to develop new diagnostics and treatments for future patients.”
The Association of Medical Research Charities and other medical charities are calling on the government to set up a Life Sciences-Charity Partnership Fund with at least £310 million in the first year. The Fund would provide a bridge to protect the vital contribution of charity research and development to the health and wealth of the country.
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