Rebranded medical charity to spend £500m

The medical charity LifeArc, formerly known as MRC Technology, has announced plans to spend £500 million over the next five years.

The funding organisation grew out of the Medical Research Council in 1992, became a charity seven years later, and on 15 June changed its name to LifeArc.

In a statement announcing the changes, LifeArc said funding will be channelled through “communities for impact”: networks that it plans to create by bringing together partners that want to collaborate on medical innovation in specific areas, including antimicrobials, neuroscience, personalised oncology and respiratory medicine.