Cancer Research UK brings commercialisation arm in-house

The move will increase the ease with which funded research can progress toward the development of new therapeutics, diagnostics and other innovations that ultimately deliver benefits to cancer patients and the wider population.

Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation, said: “It’s become clear that the more integrated we are as an organisation, the more we can ensure that our incredible network of discovery science, translational research and clinical development activities are brought to bear in the development of new advances that benefit patients. “Partnership plays an incredibly important role in this – we can’t advance the discoveries our researchers make in isolation – and with this move we can engage partners sooner and bring our network of capability together with their expertise to accelerate progress. Our goal is to be the world leading cancer research and innovation organisation. Partners need to understand what we do and how to engage with our funded scientists and our portfolio of research. We have a broad research strategy spanning discovery science, cancer prevention, big data, therapeutic innovation and early detection. This move we are making will help us develop effective strategic partnerships to advance our work in these areas.”

All commercialisation activity will be carried out by Cancer Research UK’s Commercial Partnerships team* and the CRT Discovery Laboratories will become the CRUK Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories. With exclusive rights to over £350m of world-class cancer research annually, we are able to offer unique opportunities to commercial partners looking for early involvement in new discoveries. The move will also benefit researchers, enabling them to progress their projects through cross-disciplinary or industry interactions, while industry partners will benefit from academia’s high-risk research and innovative thinking.

For media enquiries contact Kathryn Ingham in the Cancer Research UK press office on 020 3469 5475 or, out of hours, on 07050 264 059.

*Cancer Research Technology Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cancer Research UK, is the legal entity which pursues drug discovery research in themed alliance partnerships and delivers varied commercial partnering arrangements. Cancer Research Technology will remain as the legal entity through which the charity enters its various partnerships.

About Cancer Research UK

• Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.
• Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
• Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.
• Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years.
• Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
• Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

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