Gov’t injects £64m into clinical research plan

The UK government has announced its plan to funnel £64m into a new plan designed to strengthen clinical research delivery in a bid to ‘save lives across the country’.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has revealed the first phase of activity following the previously published policy paper ‘Saving and Improving Lives: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’.

The £64m dedicated investment will go towards ensuring research has better health outcomes, allowing more patients to be involved in and benefit from clinical research.

Over the coming months, the first phase of activity will include the development and trial of new COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, developing more rapid ethics reviews and faster approval processes, boosting clinical research capacity with more virtual and remote trials and increasing diversity and participation in research in traditionally underserved communities.

“Clinical research has been vital in our fight against COVID-19 and has saved thousands of lives. Working with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments, our ambitious UK-wide vision for the future of clinical research delivery is essential if we are to build on this exciting and life saving momentum,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock.

“We are making this vision a reality by continuing to work closely with our partners across the UK, the NHS, regulators, industry and medical research sector. We will create a more innovative, resilient and patient-centred clinical research system,” he added.

As part of the plans, there will be close collaboration and partnership between different organisations across the UK through the Clinical Research Recovery, Resilience and Growth programme.

This includes representatives from all UK health departments, the NHS, regulatory, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), medical research charities and industry.

“This is the first step in a big ambitious vision. We will continue to build upon these strong foundations to deliver a research ecosystem that positions the UK as a global leader in cutting-edge clinical research. With research embedded across the NHS, UK will be a global leader in trials for new treatments and technologies,” commented Lord Bethell, Minister for Innovation.