PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Bruce G Charlton TI - Why medical research needs a new specialty of ‘pure medical science’ AID - 10.7861/clinmedicine.6-2-163 DP - 2006 Mar 01 TA - Clinical Medicine PG - 163--165 VI - 6 IP - 2 4099 - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/6/2/163.short 4100 - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/6/2/163.full SO - Clin Med2006 Mar 01; 6 AB - Sciences tend to go through boom and bust phases. Following decades of rapid expansion, medical science is now due for a collapse in overall funding. Furthermore, there has been a decline in the rate of therapeutic innovation, with fewer significant breakthroughs and little progress in several major areas of medicine such as oncology, psychiatry and autoimmune disorders. Mainstream medical research has gradually evolved into a form similar to industrial research and development (R&D), aiming at steady, reliable, predictable progress by ringing minor variations on existing approaches. Where this risk-averse approach is failing, a more speculative strategy is indicated. A new research specialty of ‘pure medical science’ would aim to seek radical new theories, technologies and therapies, and subject these to professional evaluation to the point where they can be applied in practice by more mainstream ‘applied’ medical scientists. A specialty of ‘pure medical science’ might be launched by financial support from patrons who wish to be associated with an elite new medical research discipline.