Cancer Research UK spinouts raise record sums

Investment in charity’s biotech companies during pandemic more than doubled to £822 million in 2020-21

Biotech spinout companies from Cancer Research UK attracted record levels of investment last year, with over £800 million ploughed into the firms despite pandemic pressures on the research sector.

The news could not come at a better time for the charity, which suffered a huge drop in fundraising income during the pandemic. Earlier this year, CRUK said it had been forced to make “drastic cuts” and was planning to reduce research spending by £150m per year by 2024 to make up for lost income.