The UK government invests a mere £47 million per year from the public purse on research into lung conditions, despite them being the third biggest killer in the country. Funding for lung research lags desperately behind investment into researching other conditions, such as cancer and heart disease. Asthma + Lung UK is urging the sector to raise the annual UK public investment in lung health to £150 million to reduce the morbidity and mortality of people with lung conditions by 20% by 2027. If the UK government invests in lung health research, it could drive economic growth in the UK and make it the best place in the world to do respiratory research. Collaboration across public and private funders will create an ecosystem worth more than the sum of its parts. Asthma + Lung UK has produced a blueprint for a Lung Research and Innovation Institute to bring this vision to life. The UK must prioritize lung research to discover new technologies and innovations to improve the nation’s lung health.
Prioritising Lung Research in the UK can Save Lives
According to Dr Samantha Walker at Asthma + Lung UK, lung conditions are the third biggest cause of death in the UK. However, research in this area only receives a mere 2% of public investment. This lack of funding is causing lung conditions to be under-diagnosed, under-treated and under-managed in the UK, compared to other conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
Currently, less than £8 is invested in respiratory research for each person living with a chronic lung condition, while over £160 is invested in cancer research for each person living with cancer. The level of investment in cancer research has led to life-saving treatments. Similarly, funding for lung conditions needs to be increased to save lives and improve the nation’s lung health.
Unfortunately, outcomes for people with lung conditions have not improved as much as other disease areas such as heart disease and cancer in the past decade. Asthma + Lung UK is striving to change this situation and give lungs a fighting chance.
The UK government previously identified dementia, cancer, vaccine discovery, heart disease, obesity, respiratory disease, ageing and mental health as the greatest healthcare challenges, but a respiratory mission has yet to materialise. However, with the renewed commitment to science by the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, the government now has the opportunity to reinstate their commitment to lung health.
Lung conditions, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cost the UK more than £11 billion annually. Despite this, lung health is still underfunded by governments and health services. Currently, one in five people will develop a lung condition in their lifetime. The UK government must prioritize lung research to discover new technologies and innovations to improve the nation’s lung health. This will not only save lives but will also ease the burden on the NHS.
Investing in Lung Research in the UK can Save Lives and Drive Economic Growth
The poor state of lung health in the UK is partly due to the dangerous misconception that lung conditions aren’t life-threatening. Every five minutes, someone dies from a lung condition in the UK. However, lung research doesn’t receive its fair share of funding.
The UK has a world-leading respiratory science base that can help treat and cure lung conditions such as asthma and COPD. If the UK government invests in research in this area, it could save millions of people’s lives and drive economic growth.
In 2021, the global respiratory treatments, diagnostics and digital respiratory devices market was worth nearly $187 billion. If the UK becomes the best place in the world to do lung research, it could lead the way in technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing and make personalised medicine a reality.
To make progress in lung health in the UK, funding must increase, and a favourable environment for lung research and innovation must be fostered. Collaboration across public and private funders will create an ecosystem worth more than the sum of its parts.
Some early steps that would improve the landscape for lung research include building a UK-wide platform to host respiratory data that connects scientists, developing cutting-edge diagnostic tools, accelerating the discovery of life-saving treatments, and increasing our understanding of early disease progression targeting underlying causes.
The UK government cannot achieve this alone. The backing of academia, industry, technology and the NHS will also be needed to participate in this transition. This re-imagining of the way that the UK should conduct science into improving lung health will take increased funding, sharing of expertise and support to forge a new path.
Asthma + Lung UK has produced a new report titled ‘Making the UK a Lung Science Superpower’ to provide a blueprint for a Lung Research and Innovation Institute to bring this vision to life. With collaboration and investment, the UK can become a lung research superpower, improve the nation’s lung health, and save lives.
Investing in Lung Health Research in the UK can Save Lives
The UK only spends £47 million per year from the public purse on research into lung conditions out of a total of £2.56 billion spent on health research. This isn’t enough to make the scale of change required, and Asthma + Lung UK is urging the sector to raise the annual UK public investment in lung health to £150 million.
Investing in lung health research in the UK can play a vital role in saving and improving the lives of more than 12 million people in the country. Asthma + Lung UK is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to do respiratory research and fight for better outcomes for all those affected by lung conditions.
If the UK government is serious about making the country a science superpower, investing in lung health is the way to put the UK on the map. With the right investment to develop new cross-sector collaborations, research and innovation, the goal of reducing the morbidity and mortality of people with lung conditions by 20% by 2027 can be achieved.
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