News & Media

Response from UKCRC Registered CTU Network on the Industrial Strategy and the Life Sciences Sector Plan

We strongly welcome the new UK Industrial Strategy and associated Life Sciences Sector Plan which recognise the value to the health and wealth of our communities of life sciences and clinical trials. This is a sector which creates high value jobs, whilst simultaneously driving to improve our lives through living longer better. The recognition of the importance of long term relationships with industry, talent management and more risk proportionate regulation are key parts of our strategy as a network as well as enhancing how we maximise the use of existing data in driving forward our science.  As a UK wide network with members in all four nations of the UK, who themselves design and run UK wide (and international) clinical trials, the commitment to UK wide joint working both strategically and operationally is excellent news. 

There are a number of areas that we would like to see developed further however – the importance of commercial collaborative trials being a key one.  These trials, including what have been known as investigator-initiated trials (IIT), which are fully or partially funded by industry but led by an NHS or University sponsor are a core part of our ongoing partnership with industry.  They represent opportunities for derisking the testing of new or existing drugs for a wider range of conditions than a company is targeting.  These then may or may not lead to licensing or license changes depending on the results of the trial.  In the past we have seen initiatives like the Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca (AZ) Combinations Alliance which offered up drugs and some joint funding to researchers who wanted to test them in cancers which were not the target for the commercial trials supported by AZ.  One of these trials evaluated the use of Capivasertib for breast cancer and following this was approved by NICE in 2025 and is now being used to treat patients. We also need to explore how we more optimally work with industry in sharing our trial methodology expertise and this will be part of what we are aiming to do across our network in the near future.

We are delighted to see clarity on the streamlining of regulation, although it is important that we recognise risk proportionality for all entities involved in a regulatory process, not a shifting of burden from one sector to another.  Processes need to be proportionate for industry, for regulators, for researchers and for NHS organisations trying to implement the research. For example recent legislative changes to bring in notifiable trials are very welcome, but operationally, this is only proportionate for the MHRA who will not have to give approval, but that everyone doing a notifiable trial will be expected to have the same level of documentation upon inspection. To truly deliver reduced (but appropriate) regulatory burden in this area we need to move to a shared understanding of risk proportionality.

The other two areas that we feel are under covered in this plan are the importance of clinical academics and how trials can support subsequent implementation of interventions.  Clinical academics are essential in delivering a strong life sciences sector which can make a difference for the NHS and the public.  Considering how we develop these individuals and roles in a three-way relationship between academia, NHS and industry would build on recent Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR) reports (link) and support longer term partnership building across the three sectors. Similarly, many academic led trials incorporate considerable aspects of implementation research (such as process evaluations) and these inform the operational implementation of an intervention in the NHS over and above any regulatory or procurement processes.  In designing an eco-system it is important to remember this connected opportunity rather than establishing separate systems and processes.

Overall there is a lot that is good here, but also plenty for us all to work on to shape the future of life sciences in the UK and we look forward to working in partnership to deliver this vision.

Read the Life Sciences Sector Plan here.