Germany steps up spending on health research
Germany will provide an extra EUR 180 million for health research as part of a medical technology action plan, German Minister for Education and Research Annette Schavan has announced. 'Modern health research leads to better medical care for patents. At the same time, it serves to lower the costs of healthcare,' said Ms Schavan on 20 February. 'Health research is therefore one of our most important challenges. We will significantly increase our investment in this area in the coming years,' she promised. The significant increase will come in the form of €630 million - €180 more than originally planned. This means that some €160 million will be available annually from 2008. The minister said that many people will benefit from these additional funds, but added that a priority must now be to ensure that research results are turned into concrete care for patients as quickly as possible. This will be achieved partly through new research structures, said Ms Schavan. The new approach will involve clinical study centres, disease-oriented networks of competence and integrated research and treatment centres. These integrated centres will work closely with regional university clinics. The new medical technology action plan is intended to improve Germany's research in the domain, as well as the country's competitiveness. The plan defines priorities in three areas: practices that make possible the accurate examination of the human brain or organs; medical technology for rehabilitation and care; and medical technology for regenerative medicine, whereby cells are propagated outside of the body before being transplanted into the body. The plan will be updated and expanded in the coming years in line with scientific developments and research policy.
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