Public/private partnership improves UK's clinical research competitiveness

A new report shows that collaboration between the UK’s life sciences industry, the National Health Service (NHS) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network is enhancing the country’s clinical research competitiveness.

The NIHR Clinical Research Network North West Exemplar Programme (NWEP) - supported by the NHS North West Strategic Health Authority, NHS chief executives and senior industry leaders - was initiated to demonstrate that the NHS could compete with Europe in the set-up and delivery of high quality, commercially-sponsored clinical research studies.

The NWEP Phase II Report shows that the 20 participating studies achieved a median set-up time of 54 days, which matches the best performance levels in Europe. Seven of the 20 studies recruited the first patient in the world, a key indicator of efficient study set-up and strong evidence that the Clinical Research Network is succeeding in streamlining research governance. Additionally, 18 of the 20 studies are on course to meet, or exceed, their patient recruitment target.