The business secretary Vince Cable made a speech on science, research and innovation today, ahead of the comprehensive spending review announcement on 20 October.

Simon Denegri, chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) commented:

“Vince Cable says he wants to see greater collaboration in research. Yet the business secretary makes no mention of the role that charities and their donors play in supporting UK science, a contribution which amounted to over a third of all public expenditure on medical research last year. Charities are not the third sector in medical research. They are often its leaders and catalysts both in terms of their funding and public support. Failing to recognise this will not fill the sector with confidence.”

8 September 2010

For media inquiries, please contact Simon Denegri, Association of Medical Research Charities on 020 7269 8820 /07793 441227.

Notes to editors:

• The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) is a membership organisation of the leading medical research charities in the UK.
• AMRC has 121 member charities that last year contributed over £1 billion (not including capital expenditure, data from AMRC research expenditure database, 2009-10) to research in the UK into tackling diseases including heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as rarer conditions such as cystic fibrosis and motor neurone disease.