Guidance

Cancer: develop treatments and diagnostic technologies in the UK

Updated 12 February 2019

The UK is one of the best locations in the world to develop and commercialise cancer treatments and cancer diagnostic technologies providing a launch pad to global markets.

It has:

• leading-edge research and talent
• established platforms for innovation and clinical trials
• support for technology development
• informatics platforms
• world-renowned regulatory expertise and standards
• a culture of collaboration

The UK has been at the forefront of cancer diagnostic research and treatment innovation. It has a thriving cancer diagnostics and treatment industry and continues to play a major role in the early detection of cancer, dramatically enhancing survival rates for patients across the world.

The UK’s pioneering history in cancer diagnostics and treatment includes:

• the first removal of cancer tumours surgically
• the discovery of environment carcinogens
• production of the founding paper on cancer epidemiology
• development of next generation sequencing, liquid biopsies
• application of various technologies and sciences, such as electrical impedance spectroscopy, the measurement of volatile organic compounds and proteomics
• early detection of cancer

Advantages of partnering with the UK

The UK offers:

• a world-class research base, cluster and talent pool
• an industry base covering discovery and development of therapeutics, diagnostics, informatics and personalised medicine development
• an outstanding national clinical research infrastructure
• integrated information through the national health system and Cancer Registration and Analysis Service for cancer diagnostics
• a culture of innovation and successful exploitation
• over 480 cancer clinical trials are live and recruiting in the UK
• commitment to introduce Car-T therapy in the National Health Service (NHS)

Cancer research: UK’s world class facilities and expertise

One in two people in the UK are diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. The UK’s NHS diagnoses 980 cases of cancer each day. NHS England’s target is to save an extra 30,000 lives by 2020.

The UK‘s world-class research base, industry cluster and talent pool gives companies unique opportunities to develop innovative new cancer treatments and diagnostic techniques and products.

The UK:

• is home to Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer charity which spends about £385 million every year supporting 4,000 researchers in 90 institutions across the UK.
• brings together the world’s greatest scientific minds to catalyse a revolution in how we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer through schemes such as Cancer Research UK’s Grand Challenge, which in its first round awarded £70 million to 4 expert collaborations
• has facilities such as the Francis Crick Institute, the largest biomedical research institute in Europe
• is home to the 100,000 Genomes Project, the largest national project of its kind in the world with 100,000 genomes already mapped, delivering actionable insights for cancer patients, and plans for sequencing 1 million genomes or more
• will launch the Accelerating Detection of Disease programme, bringing together the NHS, industry and leading charities including Cancer Research UK to deliver the largest ever study of its kind, tracking data from 5 million healthy volunteers; businesses will be able to access funding through UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) managed competitions
• is home to precision cancer research using cutting-edge genomic technology and big data to accelerate the next generation of digital clinical trials for rare cancers, making the UK a leading global hub for rare cancer trials

UK infrastructure for cancer treatment and diagnostic research and development

The UK has the most integrated clinical research infrastructure in the world. It coordinates and fast tracks the delivery of clinical trials, enabling companies to get products to market quicker.

The National Institute of Health Research’s (NIHR) cancer speciality has a vast and diverse portfolio of 924 ongoing studies. UK cancer patient participation is at world leading rates with on average about 99,000 participants each year.

National infrastructure, ready to work with industry, includes:

• 5 research institutes
• 13 research centres
• 5 drug discovery units
• 1 drug development centre
• 8 clinical trials units
• 18 experimental medicine centres

In addition the sector has access to:

• a clinical trial and test-bed platform through the NHS, the world’s largest integrated healthcare system
• more than £1 billion of annual investment in a national platform for clinical research
• a study support service for sponsors and contract research organisations (CROs) which helps researchers plan, set up and deliver high quality research to time and target across England plan
• Genomics England, which has sequenced 100,000 whole genomes from NHS cancer and rare disease patients and their families, providing new therapeutic and clinical trial opportunities for patients, and helping to accelerate a new cancer diagnostics and treatments industry pipeline and genomics industry

Unique data and insights on cancer care pathways and outcomes in the NHS

The UK NHS holds patient data and information accessible across primary, secondary and tertiary care within NHS via electronic patient records. This allows patient tracking, monitoring and management wherever the patient is. Additionally, when anonymised, and with patient consent, this data can be used for development of new diagnostics and treatments.

The NHS is investing heavily in equipment and specialist staff to speed up the rate of diagnosis and provide better access to innovative treatments, including preparing for the introduction of CAR-T therapy.

The NHS is a rich repository of data and information on cancer care pathways and outcomes. Industry can use this data to inform R&D, evidence development and market planning.

The NHS is also using this data and intelligent tools. As an example, the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service works to improve clinical care and outcomes by improving and utilising information better.

Early diagnosis and access to unlicensed medicine in the UK

There is a major focus on early diagnosis in the NHS, and related innovation funding is available to businesses through Innovate UK.

The Early Access to Medicines Scheme allows promising new unlicensed medicines to be made available to UK patients with a high unmet clinical need. Patients have received early access to 6 drugs for 12 different cancer indications with positive scientific opinions since the scheme started.

Low-risk and efficient route to product development

The UK offers low-risk and efficient market entry routes for product development through:

• life sciences catapults which bridge the gap between business and academia
• a single point of access to expert regulatory information through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
• access to scientific opinion on the benefit / risk balance of new treatments and technology

Catapults

The Medicines Discovery Catapult:

• acts as a central point for all drug-based approaches
• is positioned to exploit opportunities in modern drug discovery and preclinical development

As personalised medicine becomes more mainstream this will impact early stage drug development and biomarker validation for diagnostics.

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult supports the development and commercialisation of advanced therapies including manufacturing and route to market. Experience across many products has established the UK as a leading location for cell and gene therapy development. This includes gene-modified T cell therapy and immuno-oncology.

Regulation in the UK for cancer treatments and diagnostic technologies

The Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Innovation Office offers a single point of access for all innovative medicines and medical devices. MHRA can offer industry a range of support on clinical development plans, manufacturing processes, and product licensing to enter the UK marketplace.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides national guidance and advice to improve UK health and social care, including on clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE provides scientific advice services to industry, operates an Office for Market Access to help industry engage and speed up the development process, and produces guidance and other tools to the NHS.

NICE and NHS England are developing HealthTech Connect, as a single front door for innovators of medical devices, diagnostics and health technologies. Behind this will be a range of support organisations who can help with clinical and value evidence development, and help you prepare to launch your product in the UK market or use the UK as a gateway to success in other global markets.

UK’s culture of innovation and successful exploitation

The UK has a global reputation for translational research and the successful commercial exploitation of new products and services.

Examples of commercial innovations include:

• the development of the iKnife, where vaporised smoke from heated tissue is analysed by a mass spectrometer to detect chemicals in the biological sample
• ZedScan, a diagnostic system utilising electrical impedance spectroscopy to provide an objective assessment of the cervical epithelial tissue in real time
• immunoassay diagnostic tests based on minichromosome maintenance (MCM) for urological cancers
• a novel breathalyser exploiting volatile organic compound (VOC) biomarker discovery for the early detection of lung and colorectal cancer
• the longitudinal algorithm-based screening tests (dynamic change of biomarkers) for ovarian and pancreatic cancer

Contact the Life Sciences Organisation

The Life Sciences Organisation (LSO) is made up of a mixed team of civil servants and private sector specialists based in the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT).

It provides support for:

• UK life sciences companies doing business overseas
• foreign life sciences companies wanting to invest in the UK

Contact lifescience@trade.gov.uk for more information on commercial opportunities in the UK’s life sciences sector.

You can find out more about investing in the UK at great.gov.uk.