TRAINING & EDUCATION NIHR research opportunities
The NIHR CRN offers research studies across all disease areas via 30 specialty therapy areas. It provides opportunities for people to participate in research in the most common disease areas such as heart disease and diabetes, but also in more rare conditions such as genetic disorders.
During 2017/18 all except one specialty had commercial research studies on their own portfolio, and whilst in the past commercial research was not considered a priority for the NHS or academic researchers, there has been a journey on both sides to repair the relationship with life sciences companies. Clinicians in the NHS recognise the importance of supporting a broad portfolio of studies - both academic and commercially sponsored.
The Cancer Specialty has the most commercial research on its portfolio and supported 426 research studies or trials during 2017/18. Professor Matt Seymour, NIHR CRN specialty cluster lead, including the Cancer Specialty, explained the how the NIHR structure allows for the support of commercial research and for the opportunity of academic partnerships with commercial companies to take place: “The Cancer Portfolio consists of around 50% academic and charity funded research studies, 25% commercially sponsored studies and the final 25% are academically sponsored studies in partnership with commercial companies. “Pharmaceutical companies often develop a new drug with a focus on a specific condition. They will be looking to bring this drug to market in that specific condition via a phase III randomised clinical trial. The benefit of an academically sponsored partnership study, is that academic clinicians can look at the way in which ‘X’ drug is performing and suggest that it might be of benefit to patients with another form of cancer and ask the pharmaceutical company for access to the drug to test this out. This is beneficial to drug companies who potentially can treat a wider range of conditions with
their drug once it comes to market and patients get early access to drugs in situations they might not otherwise. “We (NIHR) see commercially sponsored research and academically sponsored partnership research as very much hand-in- hand as part of the development of opportunities for getting the most out of a new compound. “That’s where drug companies see the value of the UK because we have both the capacity to successfully deliver their commercially sponsored trials but also have a very active and well-organised clinical academic community who have access to diverse patient populations. There is good support for academic research through charities, the NIHR and the NHS infrastructure which allows those opportunities to be exploited and it may be a more efficient and less expensive process than it would be in other countries.”
Cancer Industry Alliances
These partnerships with industry can take many forms in the NIHR. The Cancer Industry Alliances is one such model and since its inception in 2008, this type of
partnership work has resulted in the rapid growth of academically sponsored and industry funded research studies for the Cancer Specialty. Professor Sarah Danson, a consultant oncologist at Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield and also the NIHR national speciality lead for Cancer: Early Phase Trials, explained how commercial research has become a bigger part of her practice: “Traditionally, pharma companies have tended to choose sites they have previously worked with and a good track record of performance, so getting access to commercial research was quite difficult if you weren’t one of those sites. Sheffield wasn’t typically one of those sites for cancer research, and so we have worked hard to develop and build relationships with a several pharma companies to bring commercial research to Sheffield. We’re now often in the first cohort of sites that they consider for a new trial which is great for us and our patients.”
Accessing clinical trials
Many patients will approach their doctor or consultant about accessing a clinical trial as they are often aware that this is a way to access new and innovative treatments. Nicola Whitehill, aged 45, a non- practising barrister, has taken part in three pharmaceutically-led clinical studies since being diagnosed with both Raynaud’s disease and Scleroderma – a rare, chronic autoimmune disease of the immune system, blood vessels and connective tissue. Nicola, who was initially told she had 15 months to live in 1997 due to the aggressive nature of the disease, said: “Before I started taking part in clinical trials, having been told the disease I had was likely to kill me and had no cure - my situation was rather like an abyss - a black tunnel without any light at the end of it. “Although I was naturally apprehensive
about participating in a clinical trial at first, it also provided a glimmer of hope in providing access to new treatments which potentially could improve my condition. I was also reassured by the excellent medical experts
22 I
WWW.CLINICALSERVICESJOURNAL.COM NOVEMBER 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
