UK Government announces funding to create the most advanced genomic healthcare system in the world, helping to save lives and improve health outcomes.
- £105 million to speed up diagnosis of rare genetic diseases in newborns, potentially resulting in life-saving interventions for thousands of babies
- Additional funding to kickstart programmes to help improve the accuracy and speed of cancer diagnosis and tackle health inequalities
- Part of new 3-year plan to roll out new technologies across the health and care system, bolstering the UK’s position as a life sciences superpower
Patients with cancer and children born with treatable rare genetic diseases are set to benefit from earlier diagnosis and faster access to treatment, following a £175 million boost to cutting-edge genomics research announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary today.
The funding will enable research which could deliver world-leading genomic healthcare to patients, which involves the study of people’s DNA. The boost is part of a new 3-year plan to develop, evaluate and roll out new technologies across the health and care system and life sciences sector, bolstering the UK’s position as a life sciences superpower.
The UK government has also announced up to £25 million of UKRI-MRC funding for a UK-wide new initiative on functional genomics, an area of genomic research which uses molecular tools such as gene editing to improve understanding of how genetic variation leads to disease and support smarter diagnostics and the discovery of new treatments. The Life Sciences Vision set out in 2021 commits to delivering a world-class offer on functional genomics and the UK is in a strong position to become a leader in this area.
