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£50m innovation project launched to fight infectious diseases

DEPARTMENT FOR INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS News Release (059/2008) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 7 October 2008

Denham announces new drive for joined up research and outlines vital role for innovation in meeting future economic, medical and environmental challenges

The fight to tackle infectious diseases was given a boost today as John Denham announced a multi-million pound programme to join up the work of businesses, researchers and government.

More than £50 million in Government funding will be made available over the next five years to encourage researchers to work together, producing faster diagnostic tests to detect and identify infections in humans and animals more quickly.

The project - the Detection and Identification of Infectious Agents (DIIA) Innovation Platform - will be funded through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) with up to an additional £5 million coming from the Department of Health. It is hoped that the research will help reduce the number of deaths and illnesses caused by infectious diseases and reduce NHS expenditure on treating such diseases

Speaking at the Innovate 2008 Conference, Mr Denham said:

"The DIIA project will target an area of great human interest - how we detect and identify infectious diseases more quickly and effectively. It plays to this country's great strength in medical research, to our international leadership in bioscience and pharmaceuticals. It promises benefits to people using the NHS."

Professor Sally C. Davies, the Department of Health Director General of R&D, said:

"About 10 per cent of all deaths in the UK are caused by infectious diseases, while the estimated cost of treatment is £6 billion each year. Also, over a third of all GP consultations in England are related to infectious diseases.

"Rapid and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases can lead to targeted and more efficient treatments, with improved outcomes. So this initiative meets a real need and is why we are contributing in a major way to this initiative through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) invention for innovation programme".

Mr Denham used his conference speech to underline the vital role innovation must play in meeting the major challenges of the future including the UK's economic growth and stability.

He said:

"It's time to deliver. To identify and implement ground-breaking and sustainable solutions to the challenges we face in 21st Century Britain. To develop innovative products and services that exploit the full talents of our people, grow our economy and improve our quality of life.

"To persuade Government departments, business and public services that innovation is not just a better way of working in more favourable economic times. It's vital for us in more challenging circumstances too.

"Innovation policy - and the TSB in particular - show how Government must get the best value for every pound that it spends. This is at a time when what Government does is even more important for businesses and for the economy than ever before.

"Innovation is a vital part of how we organise our response to today's challenges as well as to those of the future.

"Our capacity to innovate will make or break the British economy and the standard of living of the British people in the 21st Century."

Further funding has also been announced to speed up the introduction of low carbon vehicles onto Britain's roads. Total public sector investment now stands at £100 million with contributions to the programme from the Technology Strategy Board, Department for Transport, One NorthEast, Advantage West Midlands and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Underlining the importance of investment and innovation in safeguarding both the environment and the motor industry in the future, Mr Denham told the conference:

"This is a great example of collaborative innovation in action.

"This work will help to secure the long-term future of the British car industry - the people who work in it and the places whose wider economies hinge on attracting international R&D and proving their capacity to add value.

"This work will complement the major new pilot programme for electric cars announced by the PM in the Manufacturing Strategy.

"The Government is determined that UK industry should achieve a large stake in the emerging green collar sector."

Notes to Editors

1) The Secretary of State gave the keynote speech to the Technology Strategy Board's Innovate 2008 Conference in London. A copy of the speech is available at http://www.dius.gov.uk/speeches/
For further information contact Matt Barker on 0203 300 8126 / matthew.barker@dius.gsi.gov.uk

2) For full details on both the infectious disease innovation platform and the latest on the work to develop low carbon vehicles visit; http://www.innovat euk.org/newsevents/news-archive.ashx or call Nick Sheppard in the TSB press office on 07824 599644.

3) The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). For further information please visit http://www.innovateuk.org/

4) The Innovation Nation White paper was launched by John Denham on 13 March 2008. It set out the Government's aim to make the UK the best place in the world to run an innovative business or public service. It argues that innovation is essential to the UK's future prosperity and the ability to tackle major challenges like climate change. Details can be found at http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=360206&NewsAreaID =2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False

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