LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will invest up to 600 million pounds ($767 million) into a new health data research service to help boost scientific studies and cut the time it takes to carry out clinical trials, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday.
The research service, set to begin from the end of 2026, will provide one secure and easy-to-use data location, allowing researchers to avoid navigating various systems.
The government said it could set Britain on a path to cure cancer, dementia and arthritis more quickly.
“The measures I am announcing today will turbo-charge medical research and deliver better patient care,” Starmer said in a statement. “I am determined to make Britain the best place in the world to invest in medical research.”
Emma Walmsley, chief executive at British drugmaker GSK, welcomed the announcement, saying what matters now is the execution.
“The UK has unique potential to bring health data securely together with an NHS system that recognises the value of innovation, to accelerate and deliver the next generation of medicines and vaccines for patients,” she said in a statement. “This offers value to society and to the economy.”
($1 = 0.7822 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Maggie Fick, writing by Sam Tabahriti, editing by James Davey)
