The fight against cancer is slowly being won – What role do R&D tax reliefs play?

Cancer has been the white whale of medicine for many years, as the disease has been as prevalent as it is destructive.

The fear of the illness has increased as an increasing number of people find themselves afflicted by it.

However, there may be some good news in the battle against cancer and it is important to understand the role that R&D tax reliefs play in tackling disease.

Will R&D tax reliefs help find the cure for cancer?

While there may not end up being one universal cure for cancer, given the variance in the condition that would make such treatment challenging, it is not unreasonable to see that R&D tax reliefs might play a vital part.

The latest findings from Cancer Research UK are a promising sight as it is observed that the mortality rates for cancer have reached their lowest on record.

Having reached a peak in 1989, the death rate for cancer is now 29 per cent lower than that high and is 11 per cent lower than even a decade ago.

Now, around 250 in every 100,000 people die from cancer annually, a rate of just 0.25 per cent.

Once one of the most lethal forms of cancer, cervical cancer has now seen a 75 per cent reduction in death rates over the past 50 years.

This is in large part due to the creation and distribution of the HPV vaccine that is believed to have the capacity to prevent 90 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

Rather than focusing entirely on pharmaceutical treatments, the falling death rates are due to a network of different discoveries that tackle prevention, treatment and recovery.

Are R&D tax reliefs used to enable cancer research in the UK?

When innovation occurs in the UK from a UK company, the pathway is there for R&D tax reliefs to be utilised.

This allows for more ambitious R&D as R&D tax reliefs are not reliant on commercial success or even the success of an individual project to be successful.

As such, many innovative businesses can take risks that they otherwise would not be confident taking if they had to fully shoulder the financial burden of failure.

The cash injection of R&D tax reliefs is the lifeblood for innovation and can pave the way for remarkable work, such as that which is done to tackle the scourge of cancer.

For accountants looking to help clients make the most of R&D, it is worth exploring options with them and highlighting the ways that R&D tax reliefs enable the boldness that must be embraced to achieve new advances.

As R&D tax consultants, we are looking to highlight the benefits of R&D tax reliefs as we can see the ways in which innovation makes a tangible difference to the world.

There are thousands of people alive right now who would not be were it not for the innovative work that is done across the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that R&D tax reliefs have the power to change the world and we help accountants and innovative businesses achieve that goal.

Get in touch to unlock the full power of R&D tax relief claims.

Jo Edwards