7 October 2013
The Prime Minister, David
Cameron, has announced a new partnership between Genomics England and Cancer
Research UK as part of a Government bid to make the UK the first
country in the world to sequence 100,000 genomes within five years.
The collaboration aims to
sequence the whole genomes of 3,000 cancer patients and also the genomes of their tumours. The outcome of this effort may
help determine which cancer treatments will be effective for individual cancer
patients and may also help develop new cancer treatments that target specific
genetic features of different cancers.
Dr Harpal Kumar, chief
executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'This rapidly-changing research field
lays the foundations for even faster progress, saving many more lives from this
devastating disease'.
The UK Foundation for Genomics
and Population Health said in a statement: 'Britain has a potential
strategic advantage in the development and delivery of genomic medicine in the
form of the single public nationalised health service system, and the 100,000
Genomes Project has been seen by many as a crucial first step towards this'.
Mr Cameron announced this new partnership
in tandem with a £400 million investment in the Cancer Drugs Fund. The Fund
gives cancer patients in England access to treatments that are not available on
the NHS. The extra money will support the Fund until March 2016 and will
benefit new patients, as well as guaranteeing continued treatment for patients
already receiving drugs.
Mr Cameron said these two
initiatives will provide life-saving treatment to thousands more people: 'When
I became Prime Minister three years ago many patients with rare cancers were
being denied life-saving treatments. That is why we created the Cancer Drugs
Fund, it is why we are extending it, and it is why we are partnering with
Cancer Research UK to conduct new research into the effectiveness of cancer
drugs'.
Current investment in the Cancer
Drugs Fund now stands at £1.05 billion, but the additional support is
controversial. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence,
which decides which drugs can be prescribed on the NHS, has rejected many of the
treatments now available through the Cancer Drugs Fund on the basis of very
high cost.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
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The Guardian
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28 September 2013
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Cancer Research UK (press release)
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28 September 2013
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GenomeWeb (subscription)
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4 October 2013
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