A NEW £20m international research centre that will investigate some of the world’s most serious infections opened in Liverpool yesterday.
Experts at the new Biomedical Research Centre will carry out tests into a wide range of diseases, from hospital-acquired infections like C Difficile to HIV and tuberculosis.
It will put Liverpool at the cutting edge of global research and means new drugs can be pioneered for a range of conditions.
The centre, on the site of the Royal Liverpool Hospital, was officially launched by Sir William Stewart, chairman of the Health Protection Agency.
It has been set up by the hospital Trust, the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and is one of 12 in the country to be funded by the National institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Peter Winstanley, executive director of the BRC, said: “This prestigious new centre puts Liverpool at the cutting edge of research and means we can pioneer new drugs and diagnostic tools for a range of conditions. Its importance to the scientific and medical world and to victims of diseases cannot be underestimated. Here in Liverpool we will be investigating ways of alleviating suffering and treating infections which affect millions of people around the world.”
The joint venture has received £13.5m funding from NIHR and a further £6.4m from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). Its focus is on hospital and community acquired infections, chest infections, sexual health and the safety of antimicrobial drugs.
Sir William Stuart said yesterday: “Work in this new centre in Liverpool will have global significance. It will further our understanding of such infections as TB and HIV and it will be in the frontline of research into sepsis and healthcare associated infections such as Clostridium Difficile.” The Royal’s chief executive, Tony Bell, described the centre as a credit to staff who have carried out groundbreaking research in Liverpool for many years: “The new Biomedical Research Centre acknowledges the excellence of that work and gives us the opportunity to make a much bigger impact on the treatment of infections worldwide.
“I am delighted to be part of such a vital development.”
John Stageman, NWDA board member added: “The biomedical sector in the North West is one of the region’s priority sectors, with Merseyside in particular having internationally recognised strengths in tropical disease and infection research, and in the development and manufacture of vaccines.
“The NWDA’s investment in this pioneering new centre demonstrates the Agency’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the region’s reputation as a world leader in biomedical research.”
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