On Wednesday 15 April the government published the latest UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators which showed that the average time to set up a commercial interventional clinical trial has fallen from 169 days to 122 days.
Last year in the Life Sciences Sector Plan the Prime Minister set a target of getting UK clinical trials up and running within 150 days by March 2026.
The reduction in average set up time to 122 days represents significant progress against this target.
Our Chief Executive, Matt Westmore, welcomed the news and highlighted the partnership working with organisations from across the UK that have helped get us to this point.
Matt Westmore, Chief ExecutiveThe latest data highlights the important progress that has been made to speed up health and social care research as part of the UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) programme.
It shows what is possible when the whole health and social care research system pulls in the same direction with focus and clarity.
A key part of the improvements we’ve seen is down to the success of Combined Review.
By working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and our partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland we have ensured 99% of Combined Review applications have received regulatory approval within the 60 day target.
When it comes to the Research Ethics Committee review (UK wide) element of Combined Review, the median number of days it took for an outcome to be shared was 29 days in 2025 – less than half the target of 60 days.
These reliable and predictable regulatory approval timelines give sponsors of research confidence in choosing the UK as a destination to do clinical trials.
The upcoming changes to the clinical trials regulations will further cement Combined Review into law and make it easier for studies to be modified quickly, whilst maintaining a robust review process.
Our model commercial agreements have also helped speed things up by removing the need for sponsors to negotiate bespoke contracts during set-up, and we’ve also increased the uptake of technical assurances to stop these processes being duplicated at each individual research site.
This isn’t the end point though. Our next job is to sustain the improvements, and continue making changes that will make a real difference to researchers and patients across the UK.
Our continued work on the new digital service, plan and manage health and care research, will digitise the end-to-end research journey, allowing users to efficiently plan, prepare and deliver new research.
By continuing to simplify and streamline the regulation, approvals, set-up and delivery of all research, we truly can make the UK the easiest place in the world to do research that people can trust.
UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators
You can find out more about the UK's clinical research delivery performance on the gov.uk website.