£100m DNA mapping project for cancer patients announced The Government has earmarked £100 million for the project in England over the next three to five years in a bid to develop new tests and better care that could save thousands of lives. David Cameron said he wanted to "push the boundaries" by introducing genetic sequencing to a mainstream health service for the first time. "Britain has often led the world in scientific breakthroughs and medical innovations, from the first CT scan and test-tube baby through to decoding DNA," he said. It is crucial that we continue to push the boundaries and this new plan will mean we are the first country in the world to use DNA codes in the mainstream of the health service. By unlocking the power of DNA data, the NHS will lead the global race for better tests, better drugs and above all better care. We are turning an important scientific breakthrough into a potentially life-saving reality for NHS patients across the country. If we get this right, we could transform how we diagnose and treat our most complex diseases not only here but across the world, while enabling our best scientists to discover the next wonder drug or breakthrough technology. The Government's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said the NHS already analysed single genes in cancer tests and to check patients' risk of suffering side effects from treatment. "At the moment, these tests focus on diseases caused by changes in a single gene," she said. This funding opens up the possibility of being able to look at the three billion DNA pieces in each of us so we can get a greater understanding of the complex relationship between our genes and lifestyle. The £100 million, which comes from existing NHS budgets, will go on training genetic scientists, mapping patients' DNA, and creating systems for handling the information. The project that first sequenced a human genome in 2000 cost around £500 million, but technical advances mean the bill has dropped dramatically to under £1,000 per person. Officials believe allocating NHS funds to mapping 100,000 people's codes will drive down costs even further by "priming the pump." Patients will be asked for permission before their DNA is sequenced, and data will be anonymised before it is stored. The Government also announced that £100 million of new science funding allocated in the Autumn Statement would go to life sciences. The money will help build research capabilities for synthetic biology, facilities for manufacturing cell and biologic medicines such as antibodies and vaccines. Science minister David Willetts said: "Life sciences is one of the most truly international sectors - so if we are to continue to be a world player and compete in the global race we must do everything we can to support it. In the past year, our initiatives have attracted more than £1 billion of private sector investment to the UK. We can see clear evidence the UK is succeeding in creating the right environment to attract global investment to our shores and continue to be world leader in life sciences. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said his party's position against storing DNA details on a national database had not changed and insisted the project was deigned for medical research. He told Sky News: "That will enable us to make groundbreaking discoveries about how cancer works; about who is susceptible to cancer; how we can head it off; what treatments might work and it's something that I hope will mean we can avoid heartache for thousands of people every year who lose a loved-one prematurely because they get a cancer that we simply don't know how to deal with." This morning, the Prime Minister visited the Cambridge Cancer Research Institute, one of the key facilities which will benefit from the funding. Mr Cameron met researchers and was shown a machine which will analyse the genome, producing results which can then be used to provide better tailored treatment. Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "This work will uncover a wealth of new information which doctors and scientists will use to learn more about the biology of the disease and to develop new ways to prevent, diagnose and effectively treat cancer. We're working hard - with many others - to develop new treatments, and to ensure the NHS can effectively deliver a more personalised cancer treatment service. We hope that this vital investment, together with other measures, such as continued support to diagnose cancers earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful, will be an important step towards saving more lives from cancer, sooner. But, it will be some time before everyone with the disease will be able to have treatment based on the genetic make-up of their cancer.