Today (5 November) the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) published their eighth annual clinical trials report.
The report provides an assessment of how clinical trials in the UK are performing, and makes recommendations for areas of improvement.
A key finding from this year's report is that regulatory approval is now recognised as clear strength for the UK, with study set-up times continuing to improve.
However, faster set-up has not yet translated into more people taking part in commercial clinical trials. Recruitment to these trials has fallen for a fifth consecutive year, despite a wider increase in participation across all types of trials.
Our Chief Executive, Matt Westmore, responded to the recommendations made in this year's report:
Matt Westmore, Chief Executive"We are delighted to see that efforts to speed up study set-up by regulators in the UK have been recognised and praised in this report.
"The ABPI describes regulatory approval as a 'clear UK strength', demonstrated by the reduction in the time taken to set-up a study in the UK to just 100 days between January and March 2026, putting us in a competitive position with other European countries.
"Our close work with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) means that studies are not only being set-up faster than ever, but we are doing this consistently. All of this helps make the UK a more attractive place to do research.
"Whilst significant improvements have been made when it comes to regulatory timelines, faster set-up is not yet translating into improved recruitment into commercial clinical trials and so this is our current focus.
"The UK is a unique destination to do research. Our diverse population, NHS infrastructure and government support for life sciences gives researchers a strong footing to start from.
"One of the untapped benefits of the NHS is the invaluable patient data that could be used to help identify participants for clinical trials. We have recently published guidance clarifying how this can be done ethically, whilst protecting confidentiality and maintaining public trust. The newly established Health Data Research Service could play a key role in helping facilitate the safe use of data to aid recruitment and we are working with them to do this in a way that people can trust.
"If we are to increase recruitment to commercial clinical trials it is also crucial that we ensure research is inclusive so that participation can be diverse and representative of patient populations and need. Our work as part of the UK Clinical Research Inclusion Group is focused on co-ordinating work to support greater access to, and inclusion in, clinical research.
"In 2027 we will continue our work to pilot the use of Inclusion and Diversity Plans which are designed to support researchers to consider and demonstrate how they plan to enrol the full range of people who will use the drugs, devices or intervention they are testing.
"Another way we can help increase representation is through decentralised trials. By bringing opportunities to get involved in clinical trials into communities and primary care, rather than solely at secondary care sites, we can better reach underserved communities. The added benefit of this approach is that it would also reduce the burden on stretched secondary care sites. Reforms to the Clinical Trials Regulations earlier this year paved the way for this work, the health and social care system can now work together to help realise this ambition."