Cancer Research UK invests £14m in biotherapeutics hub

Researchers from three London universities and the Francis Crick Institute have joined together to form a hub for cancer biotherapeutics research and treatment, made possible by a £14 million ($18.4 million) investment from charity Cancer Research UK.

Announced on Monday, September 17, the biotherapeutics centre will be based in London and its research will span across all cancer types, including a focus on childhood cancers.

The hub brings together researchers from UCL, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute, a multidisciplinary medical research centre jointly funded by Cancer Research UK.

Approximately 14 million people in London and other areas of the UK are covered by the National Health Service trusts within UCL Partners and Kings Health Partners. They will have access to the innovations in biological cancer therapies.

This is the first time that the London institutions have partnered to tackle cancer on such a large scale, according to Cancer Research UK.

Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation, said: “Our investment represents a major vote of confidence in London’s place at the heart of global biomedical research and is predicted to bring enormous benefit to the city’s residents, businesses and hospitals.”

He noted that the unique research focus of the centre will lay a foundation for the future of precision medicine.

Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, added: “By collaborating creatively with our university and hospital partners, we will secure the UK’s position as a world leader in cancer biotherapeutics, bringing enormous benefits to cancer patients and their families.”

Charles Swanton, Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician, believes that in the future, the biotherapeutics field will transform cancer care, but that there are still several research challenges to tackle.

He explained: “We need to understand why some patients respond to these new treatments while others don’t, and how to identify which patients might experience harmful side effects. Most importantly, we need to optimise their activity to offer more patients access to these therapies who may benefit.”

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