We have exciting news to share of some important developments at Caudwell LymeCo.
As you’ll be aware, the coronavirus pandemic has made its mark on all sorts of organisations and their plans for the future. You may recall that in September last year we met with the Department of Heath and Social Care to discuss co-funding a project into Lyme disease diagnostics. Getting the government to acknowledge the need for research and invest alongside us was always a core objective of Caudwell LymeCo, and we were excited about this development. You can read more about our visit here.
We were due to continue these talks once the next government budget had been announced. But then the pandemic hit, and the talks have now (somewhat understandably) slowed whilst they deal with the fallout.
We don’t want to delay life-changing research for any longer than necessary, so we have made plans to strike out on our own and get things moving.
Getting ready for research
Over the last couple of months we have taken the necessary steps to get the charity ready to fund independent research. We have recruited a fantastic scientific advisory committee to help us make informed funding decisions on projects that will have the biggest impact for patients.
And we are partway through registering as a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities – a special hallmark accreditation that indicates a quality research organisation.
We’ve written a research strategy and we are hoping to open our first call for research proposals in the New Year. We plan to then start funding research from Spring 2021.
<<You can read a little more about research plans and priorities here>>
We’ve worked hard to get to this point and are so excited to be making things happen. We haven’t given up on working with the government, but it’s unlikely to happen in the short term and it is not the only way to fund life-changing research.
We’ll be working hard to fundraise as much as possible over the coming months so that we have a good funding pot to work from.
Want to get involved and help make this happen?
We know this is a difficult time for many. But if you feel you are in a position to make a donation at this exciting and pivotal time for Lyme research in the UK, please click on the links below.
We look forward to sharing further developments soon!