4: The impact of the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ research
In this section, we outline our analysis of the economic impact of the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and School of Cancer Sciences’ research activities (see Figure 5). This impact accounts for:
The direct effects of this research (captured by the research income accrued by the institutions, net of any public funding);
The impact of this research on improved health outcomes (measured in terms of net quality-adjusted life year (QALY) benefits (net of the public NHS treatment costs of delivering the improved health outcomes)); and
The economic impact associated with privately funded research that is ‘crowded in’ as a result of the research undertaken by the Institute and the SCS.
Figure 5: Overview of the analysis of the impact of research
Source: London Economics
The Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ world-leading research
Together, the CRUK Scotland Institute and the SCS produce world-leading research relating to a wide range of cancers.
In terms of publications, between April 2017 and March 2022, staff from the Institute and SCS collectively produced 1,280 outputs. In addition, the CRUK Scotland Institute and SCS work closely with industry to translate their research into clinical settings and ensure that patients benefit from it. In the same timeframe, for example, the CRUK Scotland Institute worked closely with 12 companies, in turn receiving £18.4 million of industry funding, and filing 10 patents and 23 disclosures based on its research. The SCS received funding from 36 different companies, with a combined value of £20.5 million, and filed 4 disclosures based on its research.
Cancer research plays a key role in the University of Glasgow’s total research activities more broadly. Cancer-related research awards made up 10% (547 of 5,367) of the total number and 11% (£119.8 million of £1,092.7 million) of the total value of research awards to the University of Glasgow’s College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences between April 2017 to March 2022.
The close collaboration between the School of Cancer Sciences and the Institute is particularly important, with 58 research awards (with a total value of £22.8 million) awarded to staff with joint University of Glasgow and CRUK Scotland Institute contracts over the same timeframe.
The high quality of the University of Glasgow’s research is demonstrated by its strong performance in Clinical Medicine in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results. The University ranked 6th (out of 31 institutions) in the UK overall in Clinical Medicine, and ranked top in Scotland. The University also ranked 3rd in the UK in Clinical Medicine in terms of research outputs, 8th in terms of impact, and 16th in terms of environment.17
References
- Based on the number of 4* submissions to the REF.
4.1: Methodology
4.1.1 Direct impact
To estimate the direct impact generated by the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ research activities, we used information on the total research-related income accrued by the institutions in 2021-2218 (£40 million). To arrive at the net direct impact of the institutions’ research activities on the UK economy, we then deducted the costs to the public purse of funding their research activities in 2021-22 from this total research income.19
4.1.2 Net QALY impact
In addition to the direct impact of research, the wider academic literature indicates that investments in cancer research lead to improved patient outcomes through both improved treatment and prevention. These benefits can be quantified by estimating the impact on QALYs, which measure the additional life years gained from cancer research, adjusted for health-related quality of life. We measured the QALY patient benefit (net of public treatment costs) using estimates derived from a core study by Glover et al. (2014) on the returns to UK publicly funded and charity funded cancer-related research in terms of the net value of improved health outcomes. Based on the study’s results, we converted these returns into a monetary multiplier of 8.78, which indicates that every £1 million of UK publicly funded or charity funded cancer research results in £8.78 million of future net QALY benefits in the UK. We then applied this multiplier to the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ UK publicly funded and charity funded cancer research income, to estimate the future net QALY benefits of this research throughout the UK.20
4.1.3 Impact of ‘crowding in’ of privately funded research
Alongside the QALY benefits, another strand of the academic literature suggests that publicly funded and charity funded expenditure in research and development (R&D) ‘crowds in’ additional private sector research funding (i.e., public and charity research funding encourages private funders to invest in additional research, e.g., to further develop and commercialise the fundamental/basic R&D undertaken). We quantified the economic impact of this crowding-in effect using estimates from Sussex et al. (2016), who found that, in the UK, a 1% increase in government and charity funded biomedical and health R&D expenditure is associated with a 0.81% increase in private sector pharmaceutical R&D spending. Using data from the Office for National Statistics (2022c), we converted this elasticity into a monetary multiplier of 1.52, indicating that every £1 million of UK publicly funded or charity funded cancer research results in an additional £1.52 million of privately funded cancer research. Again, this multiplier was then applied to the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ UK publicly funded and charity funded research income, to estimate the privately funded cancer research that is ‘crowded in’ as a result of the institutions’ research.21
As with the expenditures of the CRUK Scotland Institute and the SCS (see Section 3), the additional crowded-in research activity is expected to generate indirect and induced economic impacts throughout the UK economy. Again, these additional knock-on effects were estimated by applying relevant economic multipliers from the above-discussed Input-Output analysis.
References
- Again, the analysis is based on the CRUK Scotland Institute’s 2021-22 financial year (i.e., April 2021 to March 2022).
- For more information on the calculation of the direct impact, please refer to Annex A2.3.1.
- Please refer to Annex A2.3.2 for a detailed description of how the net QALY multiplier was derived. Also see here for a summary of Glover et al. (2014)’s methodological approach and findings.
- Please refer to Annex A2.3.3 for further methodological details. Note that we deducted any privately funded research undertaken at the CRUK Scotland Institute and School of Cancer Sciences itself (to avoid double-counting).
4.2 Impact of the institutions’ research
Combining the above effects, we estimate that the total economic impact associated with the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ research activities in 2021-22 stood at approximately £407 million (see Figure 6). This includes £35 million associated with the direct economic impact of the institutions’ research; £273 million associated with improved future patient outcomes (i.e., net QALY benefits); and £99 million in direct, indirect, and induced economic activity associated with the additional private sector funded research that is crowded in as a result of the institutions’ research.
Comparing this impact to the £40 million of total research income received by the institutions in 2021-22, this suggests that for every £1 million of research income received, the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ research activities generate a total of £10.2 million in economic impact across the UK.
Figure 6: Total impact of the CRUK Scotland Institute’s and the School of Cancer Sciences’ research activities in 2021-22, £m
| Net direct research impact | £35m |
| Net QALY impact | £273m |
| Crowding-in impact | £99m |
| Total | £407m |
Note: All values are presented in 2021-22 prices, rounded to the nearest £1 million, and may not add up precisely to the total indicated.
Source: London Economics’ analysis
Case study 3: The role of innovation in tackling cancer’s biggest challenges
Glasgow’s Garscube Campus is home to the newly established McNab Centre for Cancer Innovation (MCCI). The MCCI is a ground-breaking research centre that aims to revolutionise cancer treatment and improve patient outcomes, combining innovative technologies and out-of-the-box thinking to tackle the most challenging cancers, many of which continue to evade treatment. Led by Professor Ross Cagan, Professor Jim Norman, and Dr Chiara Braconi, the MCCI was established through a very generous bequest made to the Institute by Ms Annie McNab, to support cancer research in Glasgow and the West of Scotland. Consequently, a primary focus for the MCCI is on those cancers that are particularly prevalent or problematic for the patient base in the West of Scotland.
At the core of the MCCI’s research agenda are two cutting-edge approaches to cancer therapeutics which utilise and build upon the region’s strengths and assets in healthcare innovation, including its expertise in precision medicine and excellent pathology infrastructure.
The first approach involves the development of human-on-a-chip ‘assembloids’, which faithfully capture the crucial elements of cancer, including the immune system, key organs, and the tumour itself. These assembloids provide a unique platform for studying cancer more holistically, enabling researchers to better understand the complex interactions between tumours and the whole body, and the impact of these interactions on patient treatment.
The second approach centres around a pioneering unique approach to medicinal chemistry to develop new cancer drugs through a process called ‘Chemical Evolution’. This represents a paradigm shift in drug discovery, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and chemical automation to rapidly synthesise and screen a ‘smart’ library of chemical compounds. This technology, which has been developed by Professor Lee Cronin and is unique to the University of Glasgow, enables researchers to explore a wide range of molecular structures and identify potential drug candidates with enhanced precision and efficiency.
The MCCI aims to combine these exciting technologies to develop a new generation of cancer drugs that can effectively treat tumours within the context of the whole body. By leveraging the comprehensive understanding provided by the assembloids, researchers at the MCCI can design drug compounds that specifically target tumour cells while minimising harm to healthy tissues and organs. This integrated approach holds tremendous potential for personalised medicine and tailored cancer treatments that consider the unique characteristics of each patient’s cancer and physiological makeup, whilst radically reducing the time and cost of producing cancer drugs.
The MCCI's establishment signifies an important milestone in cancer research and treatment in Glasgow and the UK. It is poised to drive health innovation within the Glasgow City Region, foster collaboration among experts in the field, and pave the way for ground-breaking discoveries that will shape the future of cancer care.
Case study 4: Leading the way in the application of precision medicine
The University of Glasgow is leading the way in developing new precision medicine techniques, which aim to treat patients earlier and more effectively. Cancer sciences have played a significant role in the development of the region’s expertise in precision medicine, which has the potential to transform patients’ treatment, generate substantial savings for the NHS, and contribute to the Glasgow City Region’s economic development.
Precision medicine is the tailoring of medical treatments to patients’ specific characteristics. This means patients can be treated faster and more effectively, while avoiding unnecessary side effects. Precision medicine is made possible by using cutting-edge medical tools, such as more precise diagnostics, imaging, genomics, and artificial intelligence.
In 2019, a University of Glasgow-led UK Government BEIS Science and Innovation Audit22 highlighted the potential for Scotland’s unique health infrastructure to develop world-leading precision medicine innovations and enable the UK to become a leader in the field. According to the report, Scotland is differentiated by its combination of world-class clinical research, high-quality patient data, patient samples, a single healthcare provider, and large cohorts of patients with chronic disease.
The strength of this opportunity is particularly evident in relation to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Academics from the University of Glasgow’s School of Cancer Sciences and the CRUK Scotland Institute are playing a leading role in several exciting precision medicine projects and trials, including Precision-PANC, INCISE, and PREDICT-Meso, which focus on pancreatic cancer, bowel cancer and mesothelioma (respectively).
This opportunity is underlined by the fact that much of the inward investment in precision medicine in Scotland has been focused on Glasgow, with investors attracted by the presence of one of the largest acute hospital complexes in Western Europe, a world top 50 university for clinical medicine and health in the University of Glasgow, and several world-class centres of excellence in research. This includes the University of Glasgow’s Precision Medicine Living Laboratory, which represents a collaborative effort by public and private partners to create a dynamic network for Glasgow’s precision medicine sector through establishing innovation pathways in a real-world clinical setting.
These factors have contributed to the growth of the region’s burgeoning life sciences sector. Recent figures estimate that there are more than 380 life sciences companies located in Glasgow, turning over around £325 million annually and employing over 10,000 people. Almost 75% of the region’s life sciences activity involves human healthcare, as do more than 25% of Glasgow’s top innovative firms (Invest Glasgow, 2023). The region has more than 120 health start-ups, which have attracted £124 million in funding since 2015 (Dealroom, 2023). All of this indicates the region’s strong future potential to grow its health sector and exploit synergies in underpinning technologies and related industries, such as data science and health economics.
References
- Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2019).