Yesterday, the government announced an unprecedented boost for clinical trials as part of the the 10 Year Health Plan.
This includes speeding up the time it takes to set up research in the UK, simplifying the process and removing unnecessary duplication.
Our Chief Executive, Matthew Westmore, gave his thoughts on the announcement.
Matt Westmore, HRA Chief Executive“The government’s announcement marks a significant step towards restoring the UK’s position as a world leader in clinical research.
“The Health Research Authority has a key role to play in achieving the government’s commitment to turbocharge clinical research.
“The government has set out ambitions to reduce the time it takes to do clinical research and support millions to take part.
“Our work as part of the UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) programme to simplify the steps that researchers have to take, and remove duplication, will help reduce the time it takes to set up a clinical trial in the UK to 150 days.
“It will also help support millions of people from all backgrounds across the UK to take part. People will only take part in clinical trials if they are confident and able to do so.
“We know that a quarter of adults in the UK are not confident that they would be treated with dignity and respect if they took part in research.
"We can help change that by setting shared expectations for how to do research in way that people can trust and supporting researchers to do this well."