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Lord O'Shaughnessy's recent independent review into the commercial clinical trials landscape in the UK has set the stage for transformative changes. His review sheds light on the necessity of revitalising the UK's standing in commercial clinical trials, a domain where the nation has seen recent underperformance and where NWEH can add significant value in key domains that the report highlights.
Key Highlights:
- Decentralised clinical trials in primary care:
The Salford Lung Study, conducted by NWEH, stands out as a premier example of how primary care settings can host large-scale trials. This study and others like it underscore the efficacy of innovative, decentralised methods that hinge on digital resources such as NWEH’s ConneXon platform for improving cost efficiency and overall trial execution.
- Improved participation and inclusion:
With a staggering 80% of clinical trials facing failure due to unmet recruitment objectives, focusing on decentralised approaches appears to be a viable solution. These methods allow individuals to participate through their local GP or from the comfort of their own homes, hence facilitating population-scale trials with swift recruitment and high retention rates. It also presents an opportunity to include traditionally underrepresented groups in trials. Our FARSITE tool enables rapid trial design and recruitment in a primary care setting whilst minimising workload for GPs.
- Economic benefits of clinical trials:
Enhancing the UK’s footprint in the commercial clinical trials landscape offers substantial advantages. Not only does it provide patients with quicker access to novel therapies and treatments, but it also yields significant economic benefits. Data from the NIHR CRN indicates that commercial and non-commercial research contributed over 47,000 full time jobs and generated £2.7 billion gross value between 2018 and 2019, proving that the impacts of these studies extend beyond simply introducing new medicines to the market. By using our trials platform, studies obtain comprehensive safety and outcome data whilst reducing participant burden and costs.
- Technological innovations in trial management:
NWEH offers end-to-end support through unique technologies like FARSITE for rapid trial design feasibility and recruitment and the ConneXon electronic data capture (EDC) system for comprehensive, accurate data and safety monitoring including information directly from source. Used together our solutions provide data to support market authorisation and beyond into healthcare implementation thereby expediting the timely uptake of new products for the benefit of patients and payers alike.
References:
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre - Health Innovation Manchester
- Johnson, O. (2015). An evidence-based approach to conducting clinical trial feasibility assessments. Clinical investigation, 5, 491-499
- New report highlights how NIHR support for clinical research benefits the UK economy and NHS
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