Making the UK a lung research superpower
Six million people in the UK currently have a lung condition and someone dies from one every five minutes. Yet the research that’s needed to prevent people developing these conditions, as well as diagnosing, treating, and managing them if they do, is seriously underfunded. Our new report sets out why we need to see more investment and how it should be invested.
At Asthma + Lung UK, we're committed to seeing substantial increases in investment into respiratory research and innovation. We want to see public investment triple over the next 5 years to reach £150 million a year. Our new report, Making the UK a Lung Research Superpower details the why and the how of this goal.
Why we need to increase investment in respiratory research
The equivalent of less than £8 is invested in respiratory research for each person currently living with a chronic lung condition. This is in contrast to the equivalent of more than £160 is invested in cancer research for each person currently living with cancer. This kind of investment is leading to transformative new treatments for cancer and we need to see a similar level of funding for those with respiratory diseases.
Research is vital for patients. Our supporter Poppy wasn’t sure she would make it to her 23rd birthday because of her severe asthma. Luckily she was offered omalizumab, a biologic drug which uses antibodies to treat severe asthma. This was a ‘life-changer’ for Poppy. Like Poppy, the success of biologics has been transformative for a lot of people with severe asthma. But it highlights the need for similarly life-changing new treatments for other serious lung conditions like COPD and lung fibrosis. We need to see more effective drugs, new diagnostic and management tools and better prevention strategies.
The current picture
The outlook is currently bleak for many people with lung conditions. There have been few new treatments for the last 20 years. Diagnosis for most lung conditions remains inaccurate and very late, prevention is poor, and understanding of the long-term progression of disease is limited. This leaves people without the treatments and support they need to regain the full function of their lungs; to breathe normally and without fear.
How we should invest
After setting out the urgent need for investment, the report explores how we should invest. We’ve spent nearly two years engaging with government, respiratory academics, pharmaceutical industry and tech companies, to figure out how greater investment in respiratory research should be deployed. We have identified five areas which need attention:
Data platform to improve respiratory data collection and include respiratory findings in large studies.
Diagnostics to develop new and more accurate was of diagnosing respiratory diseases.
Treatments to accelerate the development of new drugs and make the UK the best place to do respiratory clinical trials.
Digital self-management to create innovative ways of managing respiratory disease.
Prevention to target the underlying causes of respiratory disease and to reduce emergency admissions.
We hope that this publication will encourage greater investment into lung health research, act as a guide for investors and help our allies to argue for more focus on respiratory science. Together we can do better for the people who suffer with a lung condition.
Read our report Making the UK a Lung Research Superpower here.
We empower people with lung conditions to make changes that can be transformative.
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