Insurance giants Aviva and Zurich are to donate a combined £1million to fund mesothelioma research by the British Lung Foundation.
The investment will be made over the next two years and it is hoped will prove invaluable in the prognosis of the cancer, caused by exposure to asbestos.
The National Cancer Research Institute estimates that just £1.2million is invested currently in this area of research by government bodies and other organisations annually, so the funding from both companies is a significant boost.
The money currently being invested into mesothelioma research is well behind the investment made into diseases that claim the lives of similar numbers of people in the UK, like skin cancer, but a massive 60,000 people in the UK are likely to die of mesothelioma in the next 30 years if new treatments are not found.
Tony Emms, chief claims officer, UK Claims, Zurich said: “Whilst mesothelioma was not caused by the actions of insurers, Zurich is committed to helping people with employment-related mesothelioma and their families combat this awful disease.”
General insurance claims director at Aviva, Dave Lovely, added: “Aviva understands the distress mesothelioma can cause patients and their families and we are delighted to be providing additional funding for research into this terrible disease.”
Gavin Moat, Industrial Disease Solicitor at Russell Worth solicitors said the investment is a big step towards a future that will claim less lives of those suffering with mesothelioma.
“This investment is absolutely fantastic and will go a great way to funding efforts towards tackling mesothelioma and the current gloomy outlook given to sufferers of the disease,” Gavin said.
“With an estimated £1.2million spent on research in this area currently, the investment by Zurich and Aviva nearly doubles this present figure and will fund invaluable research into the disease.
However, he said there is still a long way to go in the fight against mesothelioma.
“The disease kills more than 2,500 people in the UK every year and this number is only expected to increase exponentially, so it is as important as ever, if not more so, that we continue to raise awareness of this terrible cancer and the continued investment needed to carry out more research,” Gavin said.