CANCER RESEARCH UK is set to extend its drug discovery effort by investing up to £16 million in two new Drug Discovery Programmes at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow.
The charity has also awarded additional grants of up to £2.5 million each to the University of Southampton and the University of Oxford to kick-start new therapeutic antibody work. It is expected the grants will be provided over a five year period*.
The new Drug Discovery Programes in Manchester and Glasgow have been established to seek out potential drug targets and develop cancer drug treatments of the future. The grants awarded to Southampton and Oxford will be used to create new vaccines that stimulate the body's immune system to fight cancer.
The investment is the result of a new strategic initiative from Cancer Research UK aimed at increasing the charity's expertise in small molecule drug discovery - using chemical compounds to stop the growth and spread of cancer and antibody therapy to promote immune responses against cancer.
Dr Peter Sneddon, Cancer Research UK's executive director of clinical and translational research funding, said: "It's extremely exciting to be able to invest in such high-level drug discovery projects. The two new programmes will strengthen the charity's capability in this crucial area of research and will be able to harness the charity's basic-science expertise to discover potential new treatments that will help fight cancer.
"The two immunotherapy projects will help step-up our efforts in this fast moving area of research."
Dr Donald Ogilvie who will lead the Drug Discovery Programme at the Paterson Institute in Manchester, said:"I am delighted to be leading this new programme. We will focus on areas of unmet need - such as treatments for rare cancers - which have the potential to yield new treatment options that can have a real impact on cancer patients."