Serious clinician studying chemical element on tester and lecture in laboratory

A total of £112 million has been agreed to support clinical research and trials.

The money is being given to 23 NHS organisations and will pay for specialist research nurses and technical staff, as well as providing facilities to support clinical research and trials.

Awarded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the funding will be provided over the next five years.

Minister for Public Health and Innovation Nicola Blackwood said: “UK researchers lead the world and our investment in this area so far has led to a variety of breakthroughs, including the first new asthma treatment in a decade and a promising treatment for peanut allergies in children.

“We know that such groundbreaking research simply would not happen without the support of these clinical research facilities.”

Previous funding for clinical research facilities has led to medical breakthroughs, including:

• identifying an effective treatment for peanut allergies in children

• trialling of the ‘bionic eye’ in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) – the first ever study to combine artificial and natural vision in humans

• establishing an innovative and standardised approach to test treatment for cystic fibrosis

• developing the first new therapeutic asthma treatment for a decade, reducing the severity and duration of life-threatening asthma attacks.