Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has vowed to grow UK life sciences with the confirmation of £1.5bn of investments planned via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Announced in a speech to industry members at an event in Camden, Kendall set out plans for UKRI to invest the figure over the next four years into life sciences research, with additional funding to come from the organisation’s budgets attached to related technologies including AI.
Kendall singled out the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology as a particular gem in UK life science.
“When people call the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, the UK’s Nobel Prize factory, it’s not an exaggeration. This institution is one of the most prized parts of our scientific landscape. Time and again, its experts have made breakthroughs in life sciences that have transformed what’s possible in healthcare, while the businesses it has spun out are magnets for investment,” Kendall said.
In her speech she announced the facility would receive a 10-year budget with the aim of offering it stability and certainty.
“Giving this brilliant institution the certainty of long-term funding will help turn even more of their ambitious research into breakthroughs that we can all benefit from, in our health and our wealth.”
