INVESTING TOGETHER CHANGING LIVES Keeping the UK at the heart of medical research CONTENTS WORKING TOGETHER FOR UK RESEARCH WORKING TOGETHER FOR UK RESEARCH 3 Over the past few decades, we have seen staggering improvements in the way that we prevent, diagnose and treat some of the most debilitating medical conditions. Medical RESEARCH IN THE UK 4 research carried out by talented scientists in our universities and research institutes and supported by funders across the public and private sector has transformed millions Government support 4 of lives across the world. The range of treatments and technologies available today is Other funding sources 5 unrecognisable from those on offer fifty years ago. The British Heart Foundation is Long-term Government investment will allow THE FUNDING ECOSYSTEM 9 the largest independent funder researchers to continue their world-leading of cardiovascular research, and research, maintaining the UK’s global position Direct vs indirect funding 9 the third largest charitable in life sciences, stimulating the economy and funder of medical research, in providing continuing improvements in the health Partnerships 9 the UK. Each year, thanks to the of the public, in Britain and globally. Cuts in the Multi-funder collaborations 10 vision and generosity of our Government’s funding of research, even if only supporters, we are able to fund applied in the short-term, would have profoundly Translational research 11 around £100 million of new research across the UK, damaging long term effects. They would supporting people, from PhDs to professors, as well discourage investment from other sources, such Research careers 11 as investing in large programme and project grants. as industry; reduce the amount of research which charities can fund; and damage the UK’s ability to We have been at the centre of the last fifty years retain and attract talent. of progress in cardiovascular research and we THE HEALTH Benefits OF INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH 14 are proud of the impact our work has delivered. We have come a long way in the fight against heart However, these achievements are not ours alone and disease but we still have much further to go. If we could not have done it without the input of the the British Heart Foundation is to continue its life THE ECONOMIC Benefits OF INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH 18 Government, other charitable funders and industry. saving work, the Government must work with us and continue to invest in research. As this report illustrates, rapid and transformational scientific progress is only achieved by a system of investors complementing each other’s work. UK Government is a central part of this funding system and its continued investment in science is essential if we are to build on the progress Simon Gillespie that we have made so far. BHF Chief Executive This report was written by Chloe Watson at the British Heart Foundation. 2 Investing together, changing lives – keeping the UK at the heart of medical research Investing together, changing lives – keeping the UK at the heart of medical research 3 ReseaRCH IN THE UK Government, industry and charitable funders each have their own role within the In 2010, despite significant financial pressures on government departments, the UK Government OTHER FUNDING SOURCES funding landscape for science and research. If one steps away, the others will be committed to protect the resource allocation unable to compensate. for science and research in cash terms. More Charities and the private sector are another vital recently, the Government also made a real-terms component of the UK funding ecosystem. Scientific research is one of the UK’s biggest This success has not been achieved overnight. commitment to investment in capital infrastructure Medical charities invest £1.3 billion annually in assets. It has led to some of the most important It is the result of stable, long-term commitment to 2021. These commitments have provided research, constituting a third of all publicly funded from researchers and investors alike to push the much-needed stability to the research community, advances in health and technology, from medical research7. the development of the first vaccine to the boundaries of research, and transform exciting allowing the sector to focus on generating world- invention of the World Wide Web. In the past 50 scientific discoveries into impact for patients. class research that adds to the knowledge base, The private sector also plays a crucial role in developing delivers health benefits to patients and contributes years, cardiovascular research has completely Long-term commitment from investors, including promising new treatments and technologies that have to the UK economy. transformed the lives of those living with heart the UK Government, continues to be vital in order emerged as a result of publicly funded research, as to support the sector, attract outside investment disease. We now see more people survive heart However, holding the science budget constant in it has the financial power to support later stages of and innovation to the UK, and ensure that research attacks than ever before, better diagnosis and cash terms means that its value is gradually eroded development, investing an estimated £4.1 billion in today results in benefits in the future. health research in 20138. treatment of inherited conditions, and more as a result of inflation. According to analysis from babies born with heart defects growing up to GOVERNMENT SUPPORT the Campaign for Science and Engineering, the The strength of the UK research base enables live healthy, productive lives. resource budget accumulated a real-terms shortfall researchers to attract substantial funding from 6 The core of the UK Government budget for science of £1 billion over the course of the last Parliament . international sources. The UK has won 16 per cent We have made remarkable progress but there and research is provided by the Department for It is too early to tell what impact this shortfall will of research funding from the European Framework is still much more to achieve. Cardiovascular Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). BIS provides have on the sector. Programme (FP7) with only 12.7 per cent of the EU-28 funding for research through a ‘dual-support’ 9 disease (CVD) causes more than a quarter of We believe that continued long-term population . all deaths in the UK; the cost to the UK of system, whereby funds are allocated through annual block funding to higher education commitment from Government, maintained premature death, lost productivity, hospital institutions (HEIs) from Funding Councils5 and in line with inflation, is essential if the UK is treatment and prescriptions relating to CVD research grants from the seven UK Research to build on its position as a world-leader in is estimated at £15–19 billion each year; and Councils. The ‘dual-support’ system allows HEIs scientific research. healthcare costs alone total an estimated to maintain a solid research base whilst allowing £8–10 billion1. individual researchers the flexibility to pursue the most promising avenues of their research. The UK has a strong track record for generating Funding through both the Research Councils and high-quality research. When compared the Funding Councils is awarded on the basis of UK CHARITABLE internationally, it ranks second in the world for INDUSTRY GOVERNMENT InternationaL FUNDERS excellence, ensuring that research is conducted by the quality of its scientific research institutions2. the best possible people, wherever they may be. While the UK represents less than 1% of the world’s population, it produces 16% of top quality The science budget within BIS also includes support published research findings3. The strength of our for the National Academies, which promote science base enables us to attract and retain the excellence in UK science, engineering and the very best researchers to the UK and leverage further humanities and social science. The Department investment for world-class research. of Health provides support for research being WORLD class conducted within the NHS, through the National IT IS estiMateD THat THE lag BETWEEN Institute for Health Research. investMENT IN caRDIOvasculaR A prosperous research environment depends on ReseaRCH ReseaRCH AND its eventual IMPact long-term investment, with a balance between ON Patients IS AROUND 17 YEARS4, MAKING investment in science capital and resource. Whilst new, state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, LONG-TERM INVESTMENT ESSENTIAL. 1 BHF & CEBR analysis 2014 requiring capital spend, provide an exciting 2 World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report, 2014-2015 opportunity for UK research, they will be unable 3 Elsevier, International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base, 2013 4 Health Economics Research Group, RAND Europe and Office of Health Economics, Medical Research: What’s it Worth? Estimating the economic benefits from to deliver world-leading science without resource medical research in the UK, 2008 budget for the work that is already being carried out 5 BIS provides block funding to HEIs in England only (through HEFCE). Similar block funding is awarded to the devolved nations through funding councils in Scotland, by talented researchers across the UK. Wales and Northern Ireland 6 Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), Budget Briefing, March 2015 7 Association of Medical Research Charities, www.amrc.org.uk/aboutus 8 “Working together for patients and economic growth” Infographic, Association of Medical Research Charities, 2015 9 Building a stronger future: Research Innovation and Growth, UK National Academies 2015 4 Investing together, changing lives – keeping the UK at the heart of medical research Working together for UK research – the role of Government and charity investment 5 A CAREER IN ReseaRCH THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT FUNDERS IN THE WORK OF OUR BHF Professors DaviD NEWBY Professor David Newby, University of Edinburgh, has been a BHF Professor since 2009. Joint funding from the UK His research focuses on how blood vessels and the heart react in health and disease, Government and the charity sector particularly in heart attacks and heart failure.