MEP: Brexit puts vital Black Country-backed research at risk
A vital research programme into a rare form of brain tumour could be curtailed due to Britain leaving the EU, an MEP has warned.
Boffins at the University of Wolverhampton are at the forefront of research into Glioblastoma Multiforme, a fast-moving tumour which kills 16,000 people in the UK every year and has no cure.
But West Midlands MEP Neena Gill says she fears Brexit will bring an end to collaborative research between Britain and its EU neighbours – a move she says could cost lives.
Last week Ms Gill hosted a seminar at the EU Parliament in Brussels in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of continuing joint research after Britain leaves the EU.
She said the loss of access to the Horizon2020 funding programme – which has supported UK research – would be ‘disastrous’.
“The research funding is a key issue with regards to Brexit,” said Labour MEP Ms Gill.
“The University of Wolverhampton is a leading centre for looking at brain tumours, but they are successful because they collaborate.
“The fear now is that since the referendum the funding will not be there to enable these working relationships to continue.
“I worry that Britain’s reputation as a place of excellence as far as research is concerned will disappear. We must not move backwards as a country. Losing funding would be disastrous. With an issue like brain tumours we are talking about people’s lives here.
“It is vital he mutually beneficial relationship that exists between Britain and the EU in research and education continues.”
Chancellor Philip Hammond has vowed to underwrite Horizon 2020 funding for projects up until March 2019, although the Government’s plans beyond that date are unclear.
Professor John Darling, who heads the Neuro-oncology department at the University of Wolverhampton, said that progress of Glioblastoma research in the last 40 years had been ‘dismal’.
“Glioblastoma is intrinsically resistant to treatment,” he said. “It is used to dealing with bad chemicals coming into the body, which anti-cancer drugs basically are.
“We need to develop a drug specific to these cells that targets the mechanism of resistance. That is the challenge we face when dealing with these types of tumours.
"We need more people involved, which obviously comes at a cost. This is not a disease we can just ignore. It is imperative we continue to try and find ways to support these patients.”
