UK Research Groups Fund Development of Molecular Pathology Tests

The UK-based Medical Research Council and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council have pledged nearly $25 million in funding to six universities to develop molecular diagnostics tools.

The universities — Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham — are collaborating with 20 industrial partners in diseases areas such as cancer, respiratory diseases, digestive disease, infections, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and lupus.

Specifically, the collaboration aims to speed the creation of medicines that can be tailor-made to an individual patient’s needs, with fewer side effects. — Jason Scott