Cancer Research UK’s £400m fundraising campaign has brought in almost £230m in a year. 

The charity said that its ‘More Research, Less Cancer’ campaign, which targets high-value donors and philanthropists, was the largest undertaken by a UK charity when it was launched in February last year with a £400m target. 

CRUK said it hoped to reach the target over the next five years.

But it said this week that it had raised £229m in the first year of the campaign. 

Donations have been received from high-net-worth families, individuals and grantmakers including The Chris Banton Foundation, The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Oak Foundation. 

The charity said last year that it aimed to use funds raised “to help accelerate a new golden age of cancer research and change the outlook for this generation and the next”. 

CRUK said the money raised would focus on work at the Francis Crick Institute, support the global cancer research initiative Cancer Grand Challenges, support scientists at every stage of their careers and enable more innovation that translates into effective therapies and diagnostics for patients.  

CRUK also said this week that Jeremy Hunt, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, had been recruited as an ambassador for the campaign, while the entrepreneur and angel investor Sherry Coutu had been appointed co-chair of the campaign board. 

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Our philanthropic supporters share our vision of ensuring sustainable funding for world class cancer research and translating these discoveries into tests and treatments so that more people, now and in the future, have more precious time with their loved ones. 

“We’ve now surpassed the halfway mark, but there’s still further to go. With the support of those with the vision and means we can go further, faster – more support means more research, and more research means less cancer.”