Milestone for UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation as
land is acquired.
Plans for London's world-leading medical research centre to
fight disease have moved a step closer with the announcement that
the proposed site for the UK Centre for Medical Research and
Innovation (UKCMRI) has now been acquired.
The 3.6 acres of land at Brill Place, behind the British Library
in the Somers Town/King's Cross area of central London, have been
formally purchased by the consortium behind UKCMRI - the Medical
Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and
UCL (University College London). The land was purchased from the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 5 December 2007,
UKCMRI will undertake cutting-edge research using the latest
technology to advance understanding of human health and disease. It
sits firmly at the centre of the Government's health, scientific
and education policies in seeking to deliver medical cures and
treatments and maintain the UK's global status in this field.
Detailed design of the building itself and science conducted
inside it is being led by an expert Science Planning Committee
chaired by the Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse, and is still at a
very early stage. UKCMRI will, however, be built to stringent
safety and security standards and have state-of-the-art scientific
facilities and infrastructure. The research that will be carried
out will focus on cures for common human conditions such as cancer,
malaria and 'flu, the emphasis being on treating diseases which
affect significant numbers of people in the UK and their
families.
The acquired site will enable vital collaborations between the
'cluster' of leading scientific, academic and hospital institutions
located in and around the King's Cross area, and so lead to better
research and improve health more quickly.