Keratoconus: Research
(asked on 3rd January 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much Government funding into keratoconus research there was in 2023-24; and which public bodies provided that funding.
Answered by
Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department of Health and Social Care funds medical research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology was awarded £20 million funding for a five-year period starting from December 2022.
UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally. UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects. This includes a wide variety of areas including physiological, biological, and mechanistic aspects that are applicable to many eye diseases and disorders of vision.
Details of UKRI and NIHR funding on specific areas is provided in the table below:
| NIHR funding in FY 2023/24 | UKRI Funding in 2023/24 |
Uveitis | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for uveitis research in financial year 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for uveitis research was £248,809 for 1 award (1 award from MRC). |
Cataract | NIHR allocated £2,584,219 for research concerning cataracts research in financial year 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for cataract research was £516,566 for 1 award (1 award from Innovate UK). |
Keratoconus | NIHR allocated £49,458 for research concerning keratoconus research in financial year 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for keratoconus research was £516,566 for 1 award (1 award from Innovate UK). |
Blepharitis | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for blepharitis research in financial year 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for blepharitis research in 2023-24. |
Central Retinal Vein Occlusion | NIHR allocated £70,000 for research concerning central retinal vein occlusion in the financial year 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for central retinal vein occlusion research in 2023-24. |
Retinal Detachment Occlusion Research | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for retinal detachment occlusion research in financial year of 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for retinal detachment occlusion research was £1,223,830 for 1 award (1 award from MRC). |