A leading cancer research organization that gave thousands of patients access to life-saving new medicines has been forced to close after Cancer Research UK cut its funding.
Last week it was announced that the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) was being dissolved – a devastating blow to future research and trials of important new treatments to fight the disease.
The NCRI said the closure was due to a lack of funds but gave no further details.
Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the main source of funding was Cancer Research UK (CRUK), one of the UK’s largest and best-known charities.
Lady Tessa Jowell pictured giving a memorable speech in the House of Lords in January 2018 while wearing an experimental hat that treated her brain tumour. During her speech, she stressed the need for comprehensive support for cancer research
The UK already has one of the worst cancer survival rates in Europe, behind Australia, Canada and New Zealand
According to financial records, the charity withdrew 80 percent of its funds to NCRI in 2020. Insiders have revealed the rest have since been withdrawn. CRUK funded around a third of the projects undertaken by the NCRI and provided office space – an agreement which insiders say has also been cancelled.
The charity told The Mail on Sunday that the closure of the NCRI would not affect the number of patients accessing clinical trials in the UK – but cancer experts disagree.
The UK already has one of the worst cancer survival rates in Europe, behind Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the number of NHS patients recruited into drug trials has fallen by more than 40 per cent over the past six years.
NCRI was founded in 2001 with the goal of connecting organizations that fund clinical research with scientists and patients, and giving thousands more people access to breakthrough medicines.
The focus was on forms of the disease — like brain tumors and childhood cancers — that drug companies didn’t invest in because they wouldn’t reap big commercial benefits. His responsibilities included helping set up studies into treating glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer that killed former Labor MP Tessa Jowell, 70, in 2018.
The former culture secretary, who became Baroness Jowell in 2015, delivered a memorable closing speech in the House of Lords, in which she spoke passionately about the value of medical studies in brain cancer. She previously announced she would be treated with an experimental electronic skullcap costing £240,000 a year.
NCRI has not conducted clinical trials itself, but has helped bring together funders, researchers and patients. Experts say it has changed the way the NHS approached cancer research. “When NCRI was founded, only 2 percent of cancer patients had access to clinical trials,” says Professor Lawrence Young, a cancer expert at the University of Warwick. “It’s now 20 percent, and the NCRI has been instrumental in driving that increase.”
The number of NHS patients recruited into drug trials has fallen by more than 40 per cent over the past six years
Insiders say the NCRI has been struggling financially since the Covid pandemic, in large part due to decisions made at CRUK. After the charity was stripped of most of its funding in 2020, NCRI’s total revenue fell from £2.6m to £1.5m that year.
In addition to CRUK funding, NCRI has been kept alive through donations from other, smaller cancer charities including Blood Cancer UK, Brain Tumor Research and Breast Cancer Now.
A doctor who worked closely with the NCRI but wished to remain anonymous says: “The NCRI is vital to the development of cancer research in the UK, which has the potential to transform the way we treat the disease.” Shutdown without replacement is irresponsible and will negatively impact cancer patients.
“Cancer Research UK is happy to tell the public that their donations are helping patients live longer – but perhaps that is not always the case and this is a clear example of that.”
Other cancer charities have expressed concerns. “It is sad that this long-standing collaboration between clinicians and experts is coming to an end,” says Sarah McDonald, Associate Research Director at Blood Cancer UK.
“The partnership has successfully helped identify unmet needs in cancer patients and developed hundreds of trials, giving thousands of people access to new, potentially life-saving treatments.”
“Clinical trials are the only way for cancer patients to gain access to a new treatment.” This announcement does not mean that ongoing trials will be affected, but work is needed to close the gap [created by the loss of the NCRI] is blocked.’
CRUK said it was proud to have provided funds to NCRI for many years. It stated that many of the functions that the NCRI was intended to perform had been fulfilled, adding: “It is important to clarify that the NCRI was not a research center and is therefore not directly responsible for funding any research project or clinical trial.”
“There are 1,000 recruits for clinical cancer trials in the UK. They are funded by a variety of bodies including Cancer Research UK, other charities, government and industry.
“None of these trials are directly funded or sponsored by NCRI and the decision to discontinue them will not limit patient access to clinical trials.” “Cancer Research UK remains committed to working with charities, industry and government in the across the UK and around the world to improve outcomes for cancer patients.”
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