The UK Government has delivered a “significant” pledge to provide £50 million of funding towards finding a cure for motor neurone disease (MND).
John Lamont MP said the immediate cash boost was “fantastic news” and Rachael Hamilton MSP hailed the accelerated funding as “very welcome.”
Scottish Borders politicians said the investment wouldn’t have happened without inspirational campaigning by the late Doddie Weir.
On Monday, the UK Government announced it was cutting red tape to speed up research into MND across the UK, enabling faster progress towards treatments.
It accelerated £29.5 million of the committed funding into specialist research centres and partnerships with leading researchers to reduce bureaucracy and help researchers access funding as quickly as possible.
The remainder of the committed £50 million MND funding is available for researchers to access through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Medical Research Council.
Scottish Borders MP, John Lamont, said: "This significant investment towards finding a cure for MND will make a real difference to researchers.
“It is fantastic news that the UK Government has cut red tape to speed up this funding reaching the frontline.
“I was proud to campaign alongside Doddie Weir to help deliver this vital extra money. His unbelievable efforts were game-changing for MND research.”
