Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124433, on Medicine: Research, how much money the Government has invested in (a) medical research and development and (b) medical research and development carried out by private companies since 2010.
The Government invests money in the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Innovate UK, both of which are non-departmental public bodies. The MRC funds (a) medical research and development, while both MRC and Innovate fund (b) medical research and development carried out by private companies.
(a) MRC funding of medical research and development
The Medical Research Council (MRC) supports research through a range of grants and personal awards to scientists in universities, medical schools and other research institutes and welcomes investigator-initiated research proposals in all areas of research relevant to human health. Awards are made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals.
Year | MRC gross expenditure |
2010/11 | £775.11m |
2011/12 | £736.82m |
2012/13 | £769.79m |
2013/14 | £877.32m |
2014/15 | £801.38m |
2015/16 | £927.79m |
2016/17 | £754.98m |
Notes:
(b) MRC and Innovate UK funding for medical research and development carried out by private companies
Innovate UK has funded medical research and development across a number of thematic areas, and funding also comprises a share of the that awarded through its Open Programme and other responsive funding programmes. Innovate UK also indirectly supports investment in medical R&D through the core funding it provides the Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult and the Medicines Discovery Catapult
The MRC provides funding for research and development to private companies on an exceptional basis through the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) CRACK IT scheme using the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) process from Innovate UK. The scheme drives the development of better and more predictive tools and technologies for drug and chemical development that will impact positively on the replacement, refinement and reduction of animals in research. The scheme funds universities and SMEs to work together to develop these tools so they are fit for purpose for broad uptake.
Year | MRC expenditure to private companies (spend) | Innovate UK (commitment) |
2010/11 | £0m | £25.12m |
2011/12 | £0.02m | £29.43m |
2012/13 | £0.09m | £80.05m |
2013/14 | £0.32m | £66.64m |
2014/15 | £0m | £41.72m |
2015/16 | £0m | £24.42m |
2016/17 | £0.59m | £63.20m |
Please note that spend and commitment figures are not directly comparable as funding may be committed in one year but spent in another.
In addition the Department of Health and Social Care funds research into all aspects of human health through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) at the level of £1bn per year including on programmes on research which encourage collaboration with industry.