BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - The UK's small and medium medical research charities have joined forces to create an overview of where they are spending their money, enabling each one to see where they fit into the bigger picture of research in the UK.

The study indicates that charities are becoming far more strategic in where they direct their funding. While they obviously want to spend money where it will have most impact for their patient group, charities are careful to do this is ways that are complimentary to government and other funding bodies, according to Simon Denegri, CEO of the Association of Medical Research Charities.

"This study will be a basis for collaboration with other funders and research organizations," he said.

The spending map is based on information from 29 charities that collectively spent £63.7 million (US$130.6 million) in 2004-2005. Almost 94 percent of this was targeted at specific disease areas such as stroke and cancer, rather than generic research applicable to any disorder.

The map was drawn up by the UK Clinical Research Consortium (UKCRC), an umbrella body set up in 2004 to create an integrated national framework for health research. "This is a welcome opportunity for charities to compare their portfolio with other funders, to see how research they support fits the national picture," said Liam O'Toole, head of UKCRC.

This research builds on a previous analysis of how the 11 largest government and charity funds spend their money, the first time an analysis of the distribution of funding across all types of research in all diseases areas had been carried out on this scale anywhere in the world. The 11 bodies in the study spent £950 million in 2004-2005.

The combined results are available in a single database that will inform strategic planning and help funders to cooperate, identify gaps and focus on areas that are most important to their stakeholders. Biotechs will be able to see which organizations are funding what types of research.

The findings are relevant to biotech companies at a time when funding from medical charities is increasingly important, particularly in niche indications and orphan diseases. Apart from the financial significance, medical charities provide access to patient populations and have links with experts.

One example is Summit Corporation's recent £220,000 deal with the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) charity Parent Project UK, to support the Oxford-based company's preclinical DMD program, and to develop further DMD therapies using zebrafish disease models.