The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has today (Monday 21 May) delivered a speech setting out ambitious plans to transform outcomes for people with chronic diseases.
In response, Professor Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences said:
"The Prime Minister is absolutely right to place science and research at the heart of the government’s Industrial Strategy. The excellence of the UK’s research is well known and continues to provide the solutions to help us address the challenges our society faces today and in the future.
“Today’s commitment to use data and AI to diagnose cancers more quickly will be transformative for the outcomes of thousands of patients across the UK. Achieving this ambitious target will require us to realise the potential of two of the UK’s great assets, our excellence in research and data sciences, as well the wealth of information contained in the health records of the NHS. Combining these strengths will deliver benefits to patients, save the NHS money and ensure that the UK remains one of the most attractive places to invest in the life sciences.
"Setting a target of increasing investment in research to 2.4% of GDP is an important step in addressing the reality that in recent years we have consistently invested less in research than other research superpowers around the globe. In the longer term to remain competitive we believe it will be essential to move towards a combined research and development spend of 3% GDP.
"It is also important to remember that high quality science doesn't only depend on financial investment. We need to continue to attract and retain the greatest scientific minds to the UK and nurture home grown talent. Science is increasingly a global venture, and to remain competitive we will have to look beyond our shores to invigorate global collaboration and partnerships."
The Academy is particularly interested in the use of health data and AI, and we are conducting a project around the use of patient data by future data-driven technologies and considerations for the future. We anticipate that the findings of this project will be published later this year. In addition, we recently submitted written evidence to the Lord’s committee on data and AI where we highlighted the profound impact that artificial intelligence is likely to have on biomedical research and the healthcare system.
Please also see our FORUM report on medical innovation, in which Professor Mark Emberton FMedSci presents a compelling case study on the potential to use MRI scans and AI to detect prostate cancers earlier (p.21), also helping to avoid more serious, invasive diagnostic procedures such as biopsies for those at low risk. Mark has written a blog for us, "Faster action to cancer drugs: a fine balancing act".
Alongside the commitment to use data and AI to improve diagnosis of chronic conditions, the Prime Minister also announced a target to help people to enjoy an additional five years of healthy, independent life by 2035. In our recent report on research priorities into multimorbidities, we discussed the impact of an ageing population on the prevalence of people suffering two or more chronic conditions and highlighted the need for more research into addressing this unmet health need.
Finally, investment in research is a major policy strand for the Academy. See more about our work on investment in UK research and development.