Leading edge research projects in UK receive £290m in funding

Five new university and business partnerships will receive more than £290m of public and private investment in research projects to drive innovation and growth in the UK.

The projects will focus on physical sciences, medical research, advanced materials, pharmaceutical manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. They will tackle global challenges such as developing new treatments for cancer.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers will benefit from a £33m partnership between University College London (UCL) and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation to develop new treatments for chronic diseases, such as cancer, HIV and diabetes.

In addition, a £34m partnership between the University of Strathclyde, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Cancer Research UK and others, will build on the EPSRC Centre for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation, a world-class facility to accelerate innovative technology delivery and establish new supply chains for medicines.

This is the latest round of projects from the £300m UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UK RPIF), bringing the total number of recipients to 20. Successful universities have secured at least double that amount of investment from businesses or charities, together delivering more than £1bn of new funding for research.

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: ‘These excellent projects will not only deliver new knowledge and applications for industry, but will accelerate growth and foster innovation between the research base and business, keeping the UK ahead in the global race.’

UK RPIF is managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), in collaboration with the other UK higher education funding bodies, with proposals assessed by an independent assessment panel. It was first launched with £100 million of public finance in May 2012.