Cancer Research UK forced into £45m ‘dramatic cut’ to research

Charity says hundreds of researchers will lose out as it doubles down on pandemic-year cutbacks

Cancer Research UK says it has been forced to slash half of its research budget as a result of Covid-19, leaving dozens of projects and hundreds of scientists unfunded.

The charity—which estimates it supports half of the UK’s publicly funded cancer research—said on 8 December that it was cutting £45 million from its research budget, adding to heavy belt-tightening already made this year due to the pandemic.