Rebecca Harris, MP for Castle Point, attended a cross-party event in Parliament with Suggs from Madness, to launch the report of an important new Inquiry looking at pancreatic cancer research.
The publication of the report, Pancreatic Cancer Research: a Roadmap to Change from The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pancreatic Cancer calls for a new approach to attracting inspiring scientists into this field and sets out a series of compelling recommendations aimed at improving the quality and quantity of pancreatic cancer research.
Although the UK boasts a number of world class researchers, excellent facilities and (through the NHS) offers a huge cohort of patients and patient data, the findings of the Inquiry highlight the need for swift measures to allow the healthy development of a community of researchers and to ensure the network and infrastructure exists to support their work.
The report was launched on the cusp of November’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month at an event hosted by the APPG and the Group’s secretariat, charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Key recommendations from the Inquiry include:
• Increase funding from various funding partners over the course of the next decade to £25million
• Focus research activity on early diagnosis – including the future development of screening tools
• National research initiatives that give priority to cancers of “unmet need”
• A simplified process for setting up clinical trials and improving research infrastructure
• Amendments to the NICE drugs approval process
• Greater collaboration among researchers and research institutions
Rebecca said;
“It was a pleasure to attend this event and to support the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pancreatic Cancer. I know there are many people in Castle Point who have been touched by pancreatic cancer in some way and we need to do more to improve the survival rates for this disease. A greater emphasis on research will be the most effective way of making an impact on the appalling survival rates and hopefully help to save lives in future.”
Alex Ford, Chief Executive of Pancreatic Cancer UK adds;
“We were delighted to welcome Rebecca to this important event and we thank her for her support.
“The key findings from this Inquiry underline much of what Pancreatic Cancer UK has long argued: that unless there is a significant increase in research funding, it is highly unlikely that the necessary advances needed to beat this disease will be achieved.
“As a charity, we expect to award a total of £1million towards research, through various grants this year. So we feel we are playing our part. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg and a much more comprehensive attitude to research is needed on a national scale if we are to start winning the fight against pancreatic cancer as well as speeding up the process of moving new treatments and diagnostic tools from ‘laboratory bench to bedside’.”