News & Events
Medical Research Council enters talks on MND Research
07 February 2007
A campaign to raise £15 million towards finding a cure for Motor Neurone Disease has received a massive boost following an announcement of talks with the Medical Research Council.The MRC, the independent body that decides how Government funding for research should be spent, said today it would work with the MND Association.
Prof Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the MRC, said: “Further research is required into Motor Neurone Disease to understand its origins and develop models which could be used to take forward potential therapies. The Medical Research Council is well placed to help the Association and has offered its help to review the research needs for MND and identify a way forward.”
The MRC funds around £530 million of research every year in the UK.
The announcement follows a Parliamentary campaign by the MND Association, led by MND Association President Lembit Öpik MP. Lembit, whose father died from MND, said: “In the past, Government spending on MND research has been very low. However, I believe my colleagues in Parliament do recognise the momentous opportunity we have now to find the cure for MND. Our recent campaign has led to meetings with the Prime Minister Tony Blair and also with Lord Hunt, Health Minister with responsibility for research. While it’s premature to say the Government have committed financial resources to finding a cure, I am in no doubt we have support at the very highest level for a world free of MND. This backing makes me optimistic about joint working and a real dialogue about funding.”
Dr Kirstine Knox, Chief Executive of the MND Association, said: “The MND Association aims to raise £15 million by December 2008. We have asked the Government to provide £7.5 million of this funding on the grounds that they will be contributing to the eventual eradication of a cruel and fatal disease that kills more than 1600 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland annually.
“I am looking forward to working with the MRC to find out if there is a way to make funding available to researchers that will lead to a World free of MND.”
