The Department of Health has agreed to fund a host of charities to develop their skills as commissioning support organisations.

Macmillan Cancer Support, Arthritis Care and Epilepsy Action are amongst the organisations awarded a grant of £56,500 from the DH’s Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund.

Ciarán Devane (pictured), Chief Executive of Macmillan, said the grant will help the charity move one step closer to achieving “the best clinical outcomes and patient experience for all cancer patients”.

The charities will work alongside the Neurological Commissioning Support (NCS) as part of its programme to support health and social care commissioners.

NCS was established by the MS Society, Parkinson’s UK and the Motor Neurone Disease Association to provide advice and expertise to public sector commissioners.

The body worked with the DH to highlight how patient services and value for money could be improved further if charities were involved to develop their skills to advise commissioners.

Since then, it has been awarded funding as part of a development programme for the new two years.

“The voluntary sector hasn’t been seen as a credible partner for health and social care commissioning in the past, but the shift towards local commissioning provides a real opportunity to change that,” said Sue Thomas, Chief Executive of NCS. “Charities can reach out and engage people living with particular conditions, unlocking this previously untapped source of expertise.”

The £3.3m Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund currently supports 57 projects around the country.

A potential multi-cancer drug is to be tested in a human trial to see if it can treat a number of solid tumour cancers.

The drug, L-NNA could be used in the treatment of solid cancers such as those of the bowel, breast or lung.

Professor Peter Hoskin, from the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in London, said: “Scientists across the world are looking for ways to prevent cancer cells from receiving the supplies they depend on to grow and divide. It's very exciting to launch this trial of a new drug which in future may provide a new approach to treat a wide range of cancers.”

The drug constricts blood vessels leading to tumours, cutting of blood supply by acting on the enzyme, nitric oxide synthase (NOS).

“All cancers rely on the delivery of vital nutrients and oxygen through blood vessels. Without a blood supply, a tumour can't grow beyond the size of a pin head,” added Professor Hoskin.

Scientists at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in London are in the process of recruiting 40 patients for the Phase I trial. The study will focus on establishing the correct dose of drug and will be funded and managed by Cancer Research UK’s drug development office.

Other medicines have already been developed that block tumours from forming their own networks of blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis.

Dr Nigel Blackburn, Director of Drug Development at the charity, said: “This is a promising area of research. We're looking forward to the early trial results of this new drug with great interest.”

Joerns Healthcare, a leading specialist in patient handling solutions, has signed a partnership agreement with Acorns Children’s Hospice, which cares for seriously ill children across the Midlands in England.

The partnership shows Joerns investing in the local community by supporting a regional charity, following its own move to Worcestershire at the beginning of 2011.

Acorns will receive support from Joerns in the form of patient handling equipment, specialist moving and handling training, staff fundraising activities, onsite voluntary work and collaborative PR and marketing activity.

In partnering with Acorns, Joerns Healthcare joins such organisations as Aston Villa FC and Birmingham Airport.

Joerns Healthcare’s Managing Director, Nathan McWattie, said: “It is a real privilege for Joerns to be involved with this amazing organisation and the wonderful people who work for them.

“With our specialist skills and knowledge of the acute and community healthcare markets, we look forward to helping Acorns improve the lives of these children and their families.”

According to Acorns Corporate and Partnership Manager Elinor Eustace (pictured with Nathan McWattie), this agreement “marks an important first for Acorns, the first time we have teamed up with a healthcare-related partner.”

Joerns Healthcare has offices in the UK, the US, Canada and the Netherlands. Its UK operation, now based in Pershore, Worcestershire, is best known for its Oxford range of patient lifts.

Acorns Children's Hospice provides care and support for children and young people who have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

The launch of several new trials marks the start of a ‘golden era’ in cancer research, the head of a leading charity has said.

Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, says that scientists now know more than ever about the potentially fatal disease as groundbreaking trials to genetically test tumours in newly diagnosed patients are set to begin.

Although he admits there is still a great deal to be learnt, he says scientists’ “knowledge is growing exponentially” and they are learning “vast amounts more as months go by”.

The trials, backed by the DH and the charity, are set to begin in September in seven hospitals across Britain with scientists believing the results may revolutionise cancer treatment in the UK.

The two year project is intended to lead to a comprehensive genetic testing of tumours across the NHS. It aims to establish which existing treatments cancers are susceptible to, which may lead to the development of new effective medicines intended to target the genetic formation of an individual’s tumour.

The Government has recently backed an increase in genetic testing as part of the national cancer plan, which the charity says will lead in a significant change in the way cancers are treated.

“It is not hyperbolic to say that this is the future of treatment,” Mr Kumar said. “This is the future of medicine. This will not just be true in cancer but across medicine more generally.

“People have known for years that we give treatment and it is only going to work for 20% of people and we are now on the cusp of finding out what is going on.”

Genetic testing may discover which drugs work more effectively for certain individuals and decide how effect other types of treatments, such as surgery or radiotherapy, will be.

Mr Kumar says that researchers may find that old or discarded products could work on certain patients and, if scientists can discover which treatments are more effective, it may bring the price of cancer drugs down in the future.

“The problem at the moment is that it takes $1bn to get a drug to market and 15 years or more,” he added. “That is the justification for the pharmaceutical industry charging high prices.

“If on the other hand by the time you get to phase II you know exactly which patients it is going to work on, you only put those patients through and instead of 10% you get an 80% response rate.

The UK Government has committed £800 million funding to boost translational research focused on healthcare innovation.

The record investment in early-stage medical research will focus on areas of unmet need, including the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, obesity and dementia.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) will use the £800 million over five years to develop NHS and university partnerships called Biomedical Research Units (BRUs), which will collaborate with industry and health charities.

The NIHR BRUs will aim to carry out translational research in seven priority areas of clinical need: cardiovascular disease; deafness and hearing problems; dementia; gastrointestinal disease; musculoskeletal disease; nutrition, diet and lifestyle; and respiratory disease.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley commented: “We need to give British scientists the means and tools to develop groundbreaking world-class health research. That’s why we have committed £800 million for translational research – developing exciting new science into tangible, effective treatments that can be used across the NHS.

“This record investment will secure the NHS as a world leader in translational research, as well as helping to ensure we give patients the very best treatment possible.”

“The NHS in England has become one of the best environments in the world for undertaking cutting edge translational research,” said Sir John Bell, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences. “This is creating real opportunities for improving the health of patients, as well as positioning the UK as a preferred site for clinical development by the [life science] industries.”