The announcement of an increase in spending was made by Tony Blair during a visit to Imperial College London, with Trade and Industry secretary Patricial Hewitt.
Professor Roger Pederson, Director, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, said:
“The announcement of over £1 billion for biotechnology is a very important development because of the need for this kind of additional funding for stem cell initiatives. It’s important both for the future health benefits to the UK population and for increasing the knowledge base of our future knowledge economy. It’s also timely as tomorrow we are launching the East of England stem cell network.”
Professor Alison Murdoch, Head of Newcastle Centre for Life, who had a successful therapeutic cloning license application for stem cell research last year, said:
“British scientists have taken a world lead in the development of stem cell technology. We welcome government investment which is essential to ensure this is maintained. Basic science must be translated into treatments to benefit patients and we hope this will be in collaboration with the UK biotechnology industry.”
Sir Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial College London, said:
“I am delighted that the Government is focusing money in ways which will really help move science forward. For too long, the UK has under invested in science while our society has become more and more dependent on technology. Today’s announcement is a major step forward in rectifying this serious failing.
“It is particularly encouraging that the Government is not only injecting significant funds into supporting the UK’s science base but is also recognising that this support needs to be long-term.”
Professor Colin Blakemore, MRC Chief Executive, said:
“The resources we have been given will help us to take the clinical research agenda forward, focusing on translating understanding of the biological basis of disease into improved healthcare, products and services. “We shall be able to make a start on some major initiatives encompassing the full spectrum of clinical research, from work in laboratories and clinics to large scale clinical trials, while continuing our commitment to Britain’s world-class basic biomedical research.”
Lord Broers, President of The Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
“The announcement will enable British engineering to deliver greatly enhanced outcomes for the health and wealth of the nation. And, for the Academy, it will enable us to pursue an ambitious programme that addresses today’s critical issues. These include inspiring and motivating young people into careers in engineering, building an even better bridge between industry and our universities, and getting more out of the country’s hugely successful science base.”
Ian Diamond of Research Councils UK (RCUK), UK Research Councils, said:
“The Government has chosen to put science at the centre of its policies on economic prosperity and see the clear links between innovation, R&D and the excellent science which the UK produces. And of course, as the bodies responsible for administering more than £3 billion of public money on research each year, the Councils are delighted to see science and research so high on the Government’s agenda.
“In addition, there are considerable funds to improve the human resources needed to maintain and recharge the UK’s science base. It is absolutely right that we focus on infrastructure and it is excellent to see the recognition that research requires long term investment,” he continued “There will always be more good research proposals than the Councils can fund with public money and the UK punches well above its weight in terms of scientific excellence. What this money does is ensure a more sustainable research base, which is entirely sensible.”
Richard Davidson, Cancer Research UK’s Director of Policy and Public Affairs , said:
“Their announcement will help keep the UK at the forefront of scientific research for years to come. We welcome the increased investment in basic and clinical science – particularly the financial support for the Medical Research Council. Patients will reap the benefits of this funding allocation. The money will help strengthen the science base in the UK and show scientists throughout the world that the UK is an attractive place to carry out research.”
For more information on the launch of the East of England Stem Cell Network, the first of its kind in England, please call Anna Leach – 01223 741510.
Professor Robin Lovell Badge, Head of Developmental Genetics, National Institute for Medical Research, said:
“While any increase in the science budget is very welcome, and it is vital that infrastructure in universities and institutes is supported, it is hard to get very excited about the current announcement. The figures hide the fact that very little of the increase will be available to fund new research. Initiatives to translate basic research findings into the clinic and biotechnology industry are also welcome, but they will be short-lived if there are not sufficient increases in funding for the basic science required to underpin them. And it is impossible to tell from the figures how much will really be available for work on cutting edge topics like stem cell research. The funds available in California, just one state in the USA, far outstrip those available in the UK. We have some distinct advantages here in the way research on stem cells is regulated, and generally in the style that research is conducted in the UK, but these will rapidly be lost if the funding is not competitive.”
Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of Save British Science, said:
“It’s great that new money is coming in for science, and a very positive political signal that the Prime Minister is personally involved in the announcement. But we are increasingly seeing politicians dictate the scientific questions that the Research Councils must ask, giving specific allocations for things like energy research and biotechnology.
“Those things are important, but so is blue-skies research with no obvious application. Without it, we would never have had things like genetics and biotechnology in the first place. Until the past few years, we expected research needed for government policies to be carried out by individual government departments. So energy research would be done at the DTI, agriculture research at DEFRA and so on. The Research Councils were left free to work on entirely novel research, where the scientific community determined the most exciting priorities. This system of keeping the Research Councils separate from Ministers worked well throughout most of the 20th Century.
“That boundary has been blurred. It’s not so much a problem at the moment, because budgets are historically high, so there is some money available for both policy-driven and blue-skies research. But with the old safeguards breached, we need new mechanisms to make sure that when budgets are tighter, or when political necessity is acute, we do not see Prime Ministers and their colleagues diverting all the money into what they think are short-term vote-winning areas, and neglecting the seed corn of fundamental research on which Britain has built its truly outstanding scientific record.”