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.

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