7 October 2008
Source: Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
(www.dius.gov.uk)

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".

Further Information

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 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; www.innovateuk.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 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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