A poem by Poet Laurete Simon Armitage is due to go on display at Sutton's Institute of Cancer Research after being micro-engraved onto a pill.

The new work has been written in tribute to those working on precision science to turn cancer into a manageable disease.

The poem, commissioned to highlight the innovative research set to take place at the new Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, has been micro-engraved onto a replica anti-cancer pill.

Entitled 'Finishing It', Simon’s poem, in pill form alongside a readable copy, will be will be displayed permanently in the new Centre when it opens later next year.

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The poem was engraved on either side of the pill

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage said: “Science and poetry are closer associates than many people assume, and it was exciting to work on a project that deals with cutting edge medical research.

"And like science, poetry is a “what if” activity, imagining outcomes and possibilities based creative thinking.

“I liked the sense that poem and pill might collaborate to produce both a medical and emotional cure, and that something so minimalist could aim to bring down something so enormous and destructive.

"I experimented for a long time with the language - the shortest poems are always the hardest to write, their smallness making them so much more conspicuous and vulnerable.”

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Graham Short meticulously carved the entire 51-word poem

The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) commissioned micro-engraver Graham Short to carve the 51-word poem onto the 20mm long and 10mm wide pill.

The Centre will see a new collaboration of hundreds of scientists from different disciplines come together to lead a‘Darwinian’ drug discovery programme aiming to overcome cancer’s ability to adapt and evolve resistance to drugs, which could turn cancer into a manageable disease that can be controlled long term and effectively cured.

However, the building that will host them needs an additional £14m in donations to be completed and for the scientists to be able to start their urgent work in finishing cancer.

Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “We still have £14million to raise in order to complete the Centre so we can bring together – under one roof – experts in cancer drug discovery, computational big data and AI, alongside others studying evolution in cells, animals and individual patients.

"The aim is to create a new generation of cancer medicines.”