The Government is to invest £250 million in the project to build
a world class research centre that will tackle some of the biggest
biomedical challenges.
On a visit to the Wellcome Trust, the Prime Minister Gordon
Brown reviewed the plans for the institute and announced the
government funding for the project:
"I think there is nothing more important to the future of our
society and our economy than what we are setting in motion. I
believe that the project that we are discussing today will
transform lives, will make for a stronger economy, will put us at
the forefront of research around the world and will give people a
huge amount of hope about the future."
The dedicated funds will be in addition to the £47million
already spent by the MRC on the UKCMRI site, totalling the MRC's
contribution to around £300million.
The Chair of UKCMRI Sir David Cooksey said: "This funding
announcement is a wonderful endorsement of this exciting project.
It will allow us to create a world leading medical research
institute that will enable groundbreaking research to turn
discoveries into treatments, provide long-lasting benefits to
people through the NHS and help deliver the innovations that will
help to build and sustain the UK economy for decades to come."
Professor Sir Paul Nurse, Chairman of Scientific Planning at
UKCMRI, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine and President of
Rockefeller University in New York said: "UKCMRI will be one of the
world's largest centres of biomedical research - accommodating 1500
scientists and staff. It will create the critical mass to find new
ways to tackle difficult biological questions in health and
disease. This investment helps us deliver a unique national asset
supporting the biomedical research endeavour throughout the
UK."
John Cooper the interim Chief Executive of UKCMRI added: "This
funding will allow the creation of UKCMRI at the heart of a cluster
of biomedical and clinical expertise in north London. Researchers
from different disciplines will work together to fight cancers,
heart disease, infectious disease of the immune and nervous
systems, and the multiple degenerative conditions associated with
ageing."
UKCMRI will be constructed on 3.6 acres of land, to the north of
the British Library in the St Pancras and Somers Town area of north
London. The planning application for UKCMRI will be submitted in
the summer, following a consultation period with the community and
stakeholders. Work is scheduled to begin on the site in early 2011,
for completion in early 2015.