NIHR establishes new patient recruitment research centres

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has launched five national patient recruitment centres (NPRCs) to accelerate and aid life sciences companies to deliver late-stage clinical research within the NHS.

The five NPRCs will be located at NHS hospital sites across England and are funded through a £7m investment via the government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy and Sector Deal 2 – both of which are aimed strengthening the UK’s clinical research environment.

The new research centres will be managed by and funded through the NIHR and run locally by the individual NHS trusts.

The aim of the NPRCs is to fast-track and ease the process for life sciences companies to deliver late-phase clinical research at scale within the NHS.

This will allow companies to. Increase the number of commercial studies they can conduct in the UK, according to the NIHR, as well as benefit patients who will be able to access innovative new treatments and diagnostics.

Each centre will be equipped with purpose-designed facilities, clinical expertise and ready access to NHS support services, including pharmacy, radiology and pathology.

The NPRCs are set to specialise in recruiting non-hospitalised patients with common chronic health conditions – like asthma, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease – that are often managed by primary and community health services.

The centres will use ‘innovative recruitment strategies’ to extend the reach of recruitment beyond hospitals and specialist clinics, to enable a wider cohort of participants to take part in and benefit from the clinical research.

In addition, the centres will have a key role in delivering and aiding people to take part in commercial COVID-19 vaccine studies.

A phase III study of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine is currently underway at three of the NPRCS, in the North West, South West and in Yorkshire and Humber.

"The new National Patient Recruitment Centres will significantly increase our capacity and capability to support the delivery of late-phase commercial research through the NHS,” said William van’t Hoff, chief executive of the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

“By offering a streamlined, consistent and collaborative approach to study set-up and delivery, the centres will also make it quicker and easier for the life science industry to bring late phase studies to the UK and run these at pace and scale across our NHS,” he added.