Cancer research is expensive and needs constant investment to enable it to continue. Today The Scottish Government and Breast Cancer Campaign announce a partnership to invest £450,000 in world-class breast cancer research in Scotland.
Breast Cancer Campaign and The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) will offer joint funding of up to £450,000 in a special initiative to fund translational breast cancer research projects in institutions across Scotland.
The joint-funding programme was announced today by John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government, as experts and leading clinicians gathered at the NHS Research Scotland Conference in Edinburgh.
With the CSO and Breast Cancer Campaign contributing £225,000 each, the programme will fund projects into the critical research areas highlighted by the charity in its ground-breaking 2013 publication, Help Us Find the Cures.
Despite major advances in the last 20 years, breast cancer remains the most common cancer in the UK with 50,000 women and 350 men being diagnosed with the disease each year.
Specifically, the partnership will focus on funding translational research that bridges the gap between work in the laboratory and breast cancer patients, with project grant applications being required to demonstrate clear pathways to patient benefit.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Campaign, said: “We are incredibly excited by this opportunity to fund translational breast cancer research in Scotland. Whilst we have made great progress through research over the past two decades, breast cancer is by no means a ‘done deal’ and 4,500 women are still being diagnosed with the disease each year in Scotland.”
“This fantastic collaboration represents an important step towards our vision of a world where breast cancer is overcome and outlived and we are extremely grateful to the Cabinet Secretary and the Scottish Government for their commitment to helping us reach this goal.”
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, said: “Scotland has a proud heritage in medical research which is why I am delighted to be able to announce this partnership with Breast Cancer Campaign. Collaborative partnerships such as these are delivering benefits to all those involved.
“By investing in research we will be able to provide new insights into the underlying causes and potential new treatments for this common yet devastating cancer.”
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