MERMAID/IBD Registry
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mastering Effectiveness Research by Meta-Analysing Trial and Real World Evidence in Immune-mediated inflammatory Diseases (MERMAID)/IBD Registry
IRAS ID
357756
Contact name
Zenas Yiu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) – such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease – affect around 7% of people worldwide. These chronic conditions can have a serious impact on physical health, mental wellbeing, and financial stability. Many people rely on medications called immunomodulators, which help to calm the overactive immune system responsible for these diseases.
Doctors often turn to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for evidence when deciding whether to start these treatments. RCTs are considered the gold standard but often lack diversity, with minority and underrepresented groups rarely included. This means results may not reflect how treatments work for everyone. Observational studies, which use real-world patient data, include a wider range of people and are quicker and more cost-effective to run, but they can be less reliable due to potential biases.
The MERMAID research team is leading a five-year project to bring together the strengths of RCTs and observational studies, aiming to improve how we understand and apply treatment evidence for IMIDs. Their goal is to figure out when observational studies can be trusted, and how they can be used to improve personalised treatment decisions.
The project includes four main areas:
Comparing real-world data from UK disease registries with RCTs to test how well observational studies can reproduce trial results.
Exploring how different patient characteristics (like age or gender) influence treatment outcomes across various IMIDs.
Adjusting trial findings to better reflect the UK population, making the results more relevant and useful.
Using these methods to predict the outcomes of ongoing trials and check how closely their predictions match real results.
Through this work, the MERMAID team hopes to make treatment decisions more inclusive, accurate, and personalised for people living with IMIDs. It will do so through accessing data from the IBD Registry, BSBRBR-RA, BILAG-BR, A-STAR, and BADBIR.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EM/0268
Date of REC Opinion
10 Dec 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion