Scotland invests in precision medicine

Scotland is to grow its precision medicine industry thanks to an investment of £9.5 million delivered over the next five years.

The funding announcement was made by Scotland’s deputy first minister, John Swinney, at a gathering of academics and business leaders that took place in February.

The funding will go to the Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre and will support industry-led projects that can also help bring about cost-savings to the NHS in Scotland.

Over a period of 50 years, it’s estimated that precision medicine could save around £70 billion for the NHS in Scotland.  

The Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre will use the funding to implement precision medicine projects and also increase the number of people working within the industry.  An additional £4.2 million from other sources is also being targeted by The Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre.

“Scotland has the potential to be a world leader in the field of precision medicine and this new £9.5 million investment will build on the success of our earlier work within phase one.

“The funding announced today – £7.5 million from the Scottish Funding Council and up to £2 million from Scottish Enterprise – will be used to support the use of precision medicine in the NHS and to accelerate the growth of the industry in Scotland,” deputy first minister Swinney said.

“It will also be used to promote the progress Scotland has made within precision medicine and attract people with the right qualifications and skills to work and study within the field here.

“Precision medicine offers significant health benefits by tailoring medical treatment to individual patients but it also provides economic benefits including increased turnover and job creation and enhanced levels of collaboration between industry, the education sector and the NHS.

“The Scottish Government is committed to accelerating the development and implementation of precision medicine to bring health and wealth benefits for generations to come,” he added.

Marian McNeil, chief operating officer of the Precision Medicine Innovation Centre, said: “Precision Medicine offers the opportunity to improve how patients are treated and this will bring savings for the NHS in Scotland which have been estimated to be in the region of £70 billion over a period of 50 years. There are currently around 230 Scottish companies working in this area and this investment opens the door to further growth in jobs and investment.”