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The number of industry clinical trials initiated by the UK has sharply declined over the last five years, according to a report by the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
The number of participants recruited to industry clinical trials on the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) dropped from 50,112 in 2017/18 to 28,193 in 2021/22– a 44% decline.
The report found that pharmaceutical companies are increasingly placing their trials in other countries, which has led the UK to drop in the global ranking for Phase III industry clinical trials from 4th place in 2017 to 10th place in 2021.
This is namely due to “consistently slow and variable study set-up timelines”, according to the ABPI, with the median time between a clinical trial in the UK applying for regulatory approval and that trial delivering its first dose to a participant rising from 25 days in 2018 to 247 days 2020.
A decline in the number of clinical trials could have serious consequences for patients
The association is warning that this could have significant consequences for patients, particularly those living with rare diseases, as they are at greater risk of poorer health outcomes when they do not have access to innovative treatments.
The UK life sciences sector hugely contributes to the economy, and the ABPI say that if we can preserve and grow the sector, it will provide an additional £68 billion of GDP for the UK economy.
As a result, they are calling on the government to “act decisively” to prevent further decline, and stave off this “existential threat to the UK life sciences sector and healthcare ecosystem”.
Fears that medical academics and researchers will leave the country to pursue careers elsewhere
Professor David Strain, chair of the BMA medical academic staff committee, said: “The worrying decrease in the number of clinical trials in the UK in recent years is further evidence of the UK’s declining dominance as one of the world’s leaders in medical research.
“This highlights the importance of maintaining the closest possible relationship to our partners in the European Union as a system of separate regulatory arrangements is placing us at a disadvantage.”
Professor Strain says that unless the government acts now to reverse this “worrying trend”, patient outcomes will suffer, the NHS will be at risk of losing funding, and many of the “most talented and ambitious” medical academics and researchers will choose to leave the country and pursue careers in countries leading the way.
“[The government] must also provide the urgent investment necessary to preserve and grow the UK life science sector, with a focus on the retention and recruitment of medical academic staff in the UK,” Prof Strain adds.