Cardiff named ‘Excellence Centre’ in Precision Medicine Catapult
16 October 2015
Cardiff has been named a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in a network of hubs to develop precision medicine across the UK
Cardiff University’s expertise in researching and developing innovative technologies for the UK healthcare sector will support the Precision Medicine Catapult’s Cardiff Centre. It is one of six centres named in the £50m Precision Medicine Catapult project funded by Innovate UK, the UK Government's innovation agency.
Led by a consortium headed by Welsh Government, NHS Wales and the University, the Centre will work on local programmes, building expert teams across the city. The centre will collaborate with local, national and global stakeholders including Welsh Government, academia, health systems and SMEs, to identify and resolve barriers to building a leading UK precision medicine industry.
Professor Colin Riordan, Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University, said: “The announcement highlights both the city’s expertise in precision medicine, and the University’s reputation for outstanding UK research. The Cardiff Centre will support major UK clinical and data programmes, such as testing of new clinical trial models and the development of NHS adoption routes. Bringing Cardiff inside the UK Catapult Network will also bring wider benefits to the Welsh economy.”
The centre, which will also be supported by Swansea University, will collaborate with local, national and global partners to identify and resolve barriers to building a leading UK precision medicine industry.
Professor Julie Williams, Chief Scientific Officer for Wales and Dean of Research at Cardiff’s Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, said: “Precision medicine uses diagnostic tests and data-based insights to understand a patient's disease more precisely and so helps develop treatments with more predictable, safer, and cost-effective outcomes. The Cardiff Centre will work with UK and Welsh Government initiatives, industry and regulators to build the sector.”
First Minster of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said: “Wales has a thriving life sciences sector and a worldwide reputation for excellence in research. Today’s announcement of Cardiff as one of the centres of excellence to develop precision medicine is a further boost to the sector.”
Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said, “The UK is a world leader in the life sciences and we are committed to strengthening our capability in this crucial industry. These centres of excellence will support researchers across the country in developing precision medicine technologies that will save lives and help grow the sector.”