OXFORD is to have one of 11 new biomedical research centres of excellence across England, it has been announced.

The centre, a joint venture between the Oxord Radcliffe Hospitals and Oxford University, will help drive the development and testing of new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat ill health.

They will focus on "translational research" that will take advances in basic medical research out of the laboratory and into the hospital clinic.

The centres - in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and Newcastle - will share more than £450m over the next five years to undertake research on major killers such as cancer and heart disease, as well as on other areas such as asthma, HIV, mental illness, blindness, and the specific health needs of children and older people.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: "Health research is vital for the health and wealth of the nation.

"We want to create a world-class health research system in which the NHS supports people conducting leading-edge research and gives patients better access to ground-breaking new medicines and treatments.

"The new Biomedical Research Centres will put the UK at the forefront of vital health research and contribute to the nation's international competitiveness as a major component of our knowledge economy.