New asthma research centre to open
22 September 2005

A new asthma and allergy research centre will open later this year, funded by Asthma UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma will be based at King's College London and Imperial College London, and aims to further our understanding of what causes allergies and asthma, in order to develop new treatments.

Allergies in the UK have risen sharply over the last 20 years, with one in three people now being diagnosed with an allergy at some point in their lives.

There is a close link between allergies and asthma, with 70% of people with asthma reporting symptoms brought on by allergies and many also having allergic conditions such as conjunctivitis or eczema. In the UK 5.2 million people have asthma, with the nation's children experiencing one of the highest rates of the condition in the world.

Despite this, specialist allergy services in the UK are poor: a report in 2003 found that nationally there were only 100 dedicated clinics to serve 18 million people with allergies, and most people with these conditions were treated by GPs with little or no specialist knowledge.

The centre may help to counter this and improve the care that people with allergic conditions receive in surgeries and in hospital by providing training in allergy and asthma to health professionals.

Potential for 'world class research centre'

The centre is a partnership between Asthma UK and the MRC, a national government-funded body that supports research to improve people's health.

Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the MRC, said he believed the collaboration created 'the potential to build a world class research centre for asthma and allergy'.

Asthma UK professors Tak Lee and Tim Williams will be the directors of the centre: 'Combining the strengths of the teams from King's and Imperial, and fostering a multidisciplinary approach to research will aid rapid progress in preventing and controlling asthma and allergy,' said Professor Tak Lee.

Professor Tim Williams added: 'The aim will be to develop new approaches to prevention and therapy for the benefit of asthma patients.'

'As a leading funder of asthma research, Asthma UK is delighted to be part of this innovative centre of excellence for asthma and allergy research,' said Professor John Price, Asthma UK's Chairman. 'It provides a unique opportunity to drive forward priority areas of research that will make a real difference to the lives of the 5.2 million people with asthma in the UK.'