Funding for UK Biomedical Research Infrastructure Draws on Public, Private, and Charitable Sources

The UK’s biomedical research infrastructure relies on a combination of public, private, and charitable funding, supporting facilities, equipment, data resources, and specialist staff across the sector. Recent government announcements and sector plans have outlined new approaches to long-term investment in research infrastructure.

Biomedical research infrastructure in the UK covers a broad range of assets, including buildings, advanced laboratory equipment, digital databases, and skilled personnel. These resources are essential for supporting scientific studies and health research across universities, institutes, and industry.

Public sector funding is mainly delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which brings together research councils, Research England, and Innovate UK. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) also allocates substantial annual funding to health and social care research infrastructure.

Charitable organisations play a role by funding institutes and awarding capital grants, with examples including the UK Dementia Research Institute and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Partnerships between government, charities, and universities have established facilities such as the Francis Crick Institute, while trusts like the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust provide capital grants ranging from £150,000 to £500,000.

What the numbers show

• UKRI’s Infrastructure Fund is investing £481 million in 25 projects from 2022 to 2025
• NIHR provides over £606 million annually for infrastructure in health and social care research
• In 2018-19, public funds covered 69% of operational costs for research infrastructure
• UK Biobank received over £180 million in core funding from several organisations
• Queen Mary University of London is developing a £750 million biomedical campus

Major infrastructure projects have received funding from multiple sources. UK Biobank, for example, secured core funding from Wellcome, the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and NIHR, as well as philanthropic contributions matched by government and investment from UKRI’s Infrastructure Fund. Amazon Web Services also provided cloud computing credits, which were matched by additional government funding.

Private sector investment includes projects such as Moderna’s £150 million Innovation and Technology Centre in Oxfordshire and BioNTech’s investment of up to £1 billion in Cambridge and London, with government support of up to £129 million. University-led developments, such as Queen Mary University of London’s £750 million biomedical campus, are funded through a mix of university, private, and public sector investment.

In May 2025, the UK Government announced that public bodies could commit to funding periods of up to 10 years for research and development infrastructure. This measure is intended to provide greater certainty for long-term projects and planning within the sector.

The Life Sciences Sector Plan published in July 2025 set out further allocations, including at least £30 million for human disease models, over £350 million for the 'Our Future Health' cohort and clinical trials resource, and more than £650 million to support Genomics England’s genomic research database. These investments are part of a broader strategy to strengthen the UK’s position in biomedical research.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.