CLINICAL RESEARCH
this enables research teams to answer the questions that they set out to address - ultimately benefiting patients by improving care and services.” For eligible studies, the NIHR CRN can also help with costs related to identifying participants, gaining consent and assisting on-site research professionals - including potential funding to meet the costs of research staff and facilities. Matt Cooper, business development and marketing director, described how the CRN’s contribution to research delivery has supported growth over the last year: “We fund over 10,000 research specific staff to enable studies to be conducted in all parts of the NHS - from primary care, secondary care and specialist centres to community hospitals and care homes. “We can provide the opportunity and the information for patients to engage in research in any disease setting from the ultra-rare diseases to the very common illnesses and in innovative new areas such as cell and gene therapies.” Partnerships between the NHS and the life sciences industry, known as commercial contract research, bring a range of benefits to the healthcare sector - giving Trusts access to new treatments and funding for health research, while also boosting the wider economy each year through the development of cutting edge medical innovations. In 2018/19, the number of new commercial studies set up across the year was the highest yet - with 740 new studies sponsored by the life sciences industry registered on the NIHR CRN portfolio, bringing the total number of studies being delivered in partnership with the commercial sector to 1523.
The number of participants taking part in commercial contract studies also remained high for the second year in succession - with the NIHR CRN supporting the recruitment of 46,064 participants to commercial studies - the second highest number on record. Dr Jonathan Sheffield OBE, said: “Despite the changing healthcare environment, clinical research in England is thriving. As an organisation, we remain primed to provide high quality support and expertise that enables the life sciences industry to access key infrastructure and deliver research within the NHS and social care.
In 2018/19, the number of new commercial studies set up across the year was thehighest yet - with 740 new studies sponsored by the life sciences industry registered on the NIHR CRN portfolio
“Clinical research is vital for the UK economy and the NHS. More research being delivered within the UK by the life sciences industry, including global pharmaceutical companies, ultimately means more inward investment to the UK - aiding the economy by bringing in both jobs and services to the country while boosting NHS finances. We are pleased to see that the NHS continues to be seen as one of the very best places in the world in order to conduct high quality clinical research.”
The huge increase in clinical research
participation over the year also marks a significant step towards the NHS Long Term Plan’s objective for one million people to take part in clinical research by 2023/24 - part of the Government’s strategy to improve care, treatment and NHS services in England. Dr Sam Roberts, director of innovation and life sciences at NHS England and NHS Improvement - and chief executive of the Accelerated Access Collaborative, said: “Clinical research brings significant benefits for patients and the organisations taking part, and I am delighted to see that as the NHS Long Term Plan prioritises better clinical research, a record number of patients participated in research last year with every Trust in the NHS providing access to trials.
“NHS England continues to work in
partnership with NIHR to make it easier to undertake research in the NHS so that even more people can participate and gain access to innovative new treatments.” The NIHR has recently taken steps to help even more people and patients access research opportunities by developing a new online service called Be Part of Research -
www.bepartofresearch.uk - which helps people to easily find and take part in studies where they live.
Baroness Blackwood, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Through our Long Term Plan, we are determined to make it even easier for people to get involved in research and the NIHR’s Be Part of Research website is an important step to making this happen. “From the eradication of smallpox and the
discovery of penicillin, the UK has a strong track record of public health successes which have saved countless lives. All of our successes to date would have been impossible without world-leading research and the selfless volunteers who take part in clinical trials.”
Dr Sheffield concluded: “The benefits that clinical research bring to society are profound. People who take part in studies can gain access to cutting edge, innovative new treatments. While NHS Trusts and health and social care patients also benefit significantly, with evidence and innovations identified through research pivotal to the development of new types of care and treatment this can ultimately lead to the prevention of ill health, earlier diagnosis, faster recovery and better outcomes.” The full NIHR CRN Annual Research Statistics for 2018/19 are published here:
www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/our-contribution-to- research/research-performance/annual-
statistics.htm
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WWW.CLINICALSERVICESJOURNAL.COM
CSJ AUGUST 2019
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