Health research funding to ‘build on Vaccine Taskforce success’

Cancer, obesity, mental health and addiction targeted in £113 million push

Over £100 million will be channelled into research on four areas of health, as the government bids to emulate the success of the Covid-19 Vaccine Taskforce.

The government aims to build on the approach used by the taskforce, which coordinated the research efforts of government with industry, academics and funding agencies to develop and deploy vaccines during the pandemic. Prime minister Rishi Sunak said the new money would help address “some of the biggest public health challenges facing our country”: cancer, obesity, mental health and addiction.