The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has published its annual report on the performance of UK clinical trials over the past year.
‘The road to recovery for UK industry clinical trials’ shows that the UK has climbed in the global rankings for clinical trials.
For the number of Phase II and Phase III trials hosted, the UK has moved up two places to fourth and eight respectively, though the UK moved down one place to fifth overall for Phase I trials.
For the second year in a row the total number of industry clinical trials initiated in the UK has increased, up from 411 trials in 2022 to 426 in 2023.
The report comes as we prepare for the UK’s new Clinical Trials regulations to be laid before parliament.
The updated regulations, which the Health Research Authority (HRA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have been working on for the past two years, will support a more streamlined and flexible regulation of clinical trials, removing unnecessary administrative burdens on trial sponsors, whilst protecting the interests of trial participants.
Matt Westmore, Chief Executive of the Health Research Authority, shared his thoughts on the report from ABPI.
Matt Westmore, Chief Executive, Health Research Authority“The UK is a great place for research, delivering benefits to both the health of the nation and the economy. While there is more to achieve, it’s encouraging to see the results of the sector’s collective efforts to further strengthen the UK as a global leader in research.
“The report shows some of the strengths of the UK system, but also highlights where there is further work to do. We are working with our partners to speed up study set up, and we’re transforming our digital services to make it easier to get approval for research and manage studies in the UK.
“We are also setting expectations for how research should be designed and conducted so that it can be successfully embedded as business as usual in the NHS and the wider health and care sector. This will help improve timely access to health and care research and widen participation in clinical trials.
“We will continue to champion diversity, public involvement and transparency in research to help earn the trust of people and give them the confidence to choose to take part in clinical trials.
“The new Clinical Trials regulations and accompanying guidance have been updated to reflect the feedback we’ve had from the research community to create a faster, more efficient, more accessible and more innovative clinical research system which we hope will help make the UK a world leader in clinical trials.
“It’s clear to see the value that research brings not only in developing new treatments and drugs, but the wider value to the UK economy, and we look forward to carrying forward work supporting these recommendations so that we can help make the UK the best place in the world to carry out clinical trials.”