Response to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget speech
16 March 2005
Responding to the budget statement on stem cell research, the Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, Professor Colin Blakemore said:
“The Medical Research Council (MRC) is delighted at the Chancellor’s continued support of stem cell research. All of us who are actively trying to advance stem cell research fervently hope that it will one day be possible to treat currently incurable conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease to the benefit of hundreds of thousands of people.”
For further information, or to arrange an interview, contact the MRC press office on 0207 637 6011
Notes to Editors
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work which has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC’s expenditure of £450 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools.
