EU Red tape hampers cancer clinical trials

European Union bureaucracy has made running large clinical trials for new cancer drugs more difficult, according to a Cancer Research UK report published in the European Journal of Cancer (January 8 issue). The EU Clinical Trials Directive was intended to harmonize standards across the continent, making it easier for international groups to collaborate. However, says the cancer charity, because every member state implements European laws in a slightly different way, the effect has, in fact, been to increase costs, delay trials starting and make collaboration more difficult.