Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11 - Cancer Research UK

Chairman’s statement
It was welcome news that despite other public sector cuts,
the government affirmed the country’s international standing
in scientific research by re-confirming its commitment to
the new institute. Of the total £650 million project cost,
Cancer Research UK has committed to fund £160 million.
This will require a capital appeal as funds generated by
regular fundraising activities are needed to support ongoing
research programmes.
Since its formation almost a decade ago, Cancer
Research UK’s achievements have been remarkable.
Thanks to the well accomplished merger of its
predecessor organisations, the Charity has sustained
a record of scientific innovation, with research
expenditure doubling through this period. Many are
those who have contributed to this progress – made
possible thanks to the great generosity of our many
supporters and reflected in a similar increase in
fundraising income over the same period.
It is a privilege to have been appointed Chairman at a most
exciting time for the organisation. Since becoming a Trustee
last year, I have been immensely impressed not just by Cancer
Research UK’s extraordinary accomplishments, but by the
enthusiasm and unswerving commitment of all those who
work for and with the Charity, not least those who give so
generously of their time as volunteers.
We owe a particular debt of gratitude to my predecessor,
Sir David Newbigging, who chaired Cancer Research UK
for six years until he stepped down in October 2010. After
a long and successful international career he steered the
development of a strong organisation on which the Charity
can continue to build. We were especially pleased that his
contribution to cancer research was marked by a knighthood
in the 2011 New Year’s Honours.
Driving progress through research
As the world’s largest independent funder of cancer research,
the Charity has been at the heart of progress which has seen
UK survival rates double over the last 40 years. Its research is
responsible for a pipeline of cancer drugs that is unmatched
globally by any other charity; our scientists’ discoveries underpin
modern radiotherapy, as well as most of the world’s leading
drugs used to treat cancer. Thanks to rapid progress, notably
in genetics and technology, there are now unprecedented
opportunities to accelerate this research. Given the forecasts
for increasing incidence of cancer worldwide over the coming
decades, it is essential to take full advantage of such potential.
The pursuit of such opportunities is a main driver behind
the creation of the UK Centre for Medical Research and
Innovation (to be known as The Francis Crick Institute),
a new biomedical research institute of global import to be
built in central London close to its leading international
hospitals. This project was created through a partnership
between four UK biomedical research organisations including
Cancer Research UK, as reported last year.
Challenging year, significant achievements
The fair economic winds which benefited Cancer Research UK
during the last decade have however now changed, and like many
others we find ourselves in choppier economic water. Indeed UK
charitable giving has fallen in each of the last three years. This was
reflected in a small decrease last year in the Charity’s fundraising
income from the previous year’s record. A reduction in cash and
investments and a focus on cost efficiency nonetheless enabled
a small increase in total charitable activity.
Through its outreach activities, Cancer Research UK has helped
to keep cancer high on the political agenda. In its new strategy
for cancer, the government has committed substantial additional
funding to cancer services over the next four years. There is an
emphasis on improvements in early diagnosis and on a potential
shift towards an individualised approach – ‘personalised medicine’
– in future treatments. New legislation was enacted to protect
people from some of the major causes of cancer such as
exposure to smoking and ultraviolet light. A new national bowel
cancer screening test was announced following a 16-year clinical
trial, co-funded by Cancer Research UK.
New appointments
We welcomed two new Trustees to Council – in November
2010, Professor Adrian Bird, holder of the Buchanan Chair of
Genetics and Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre at the
University of Edinburgh – and in March 2011 former Head of
Group Research at Roche Professor Jonathan Knowles, holder
of professorships in Switzerland, Finland and the University
of Oxford. We look forward to the important contributions
they bring from their different international perspectives.
Professor Sir David Lane retired as Chief Scientist in early 2011,
having made an immense contribution to the Charity over
many years; we wish him well for the future. He is succeeded
as Chief Scientist by Professor Nic Jones of the Manchester
Cancer Research Centre; we wish him every success in this
important role.
Maintaining world-class research
It has been a pleasure to meet many of our partners during
the year and I continue to be impressed by the high esteem
in which Cancer Research UK is held. I am confident that
our executive leadership will respond with characteristic
determination and professionalism in the face of tougher
economic circumstances and succeed in balancing our
commitments to take advantage of new research opportunities.
The sustained generosity of our many supporters – generosity
that we do not take for granted – is ever more important to
fund research that is recognised as world-class.
Michael Pragnell
Chairman
27 June 2011
02 / Annual Report and Accounts / Chairman’s statement