While encouraged by revised regulations aimed at boosting UK clinical studies, experts say busy schedules of NHS workers present a major bottleneck to the country’s ability to conduct cancer trials.
An expert panel said the nation’s doctors and nurses have limited time or incentive to better support clinical trials through the National Health Service (NHS). Speaking on 10 June, panellists at the Clinical Trials in Oncology stream of the 12th Outsourcing in Clinical Trials UK & Ireland conference called for streamlined trial conduct and improved patient outreach to support regulatory revisions to bolster the UK’s clinical trial sector.
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Changes made to the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 30 January 2025 are welcomed changes, per Dr Austin Smith, CMO as the Swedish biotech Oxcia AB. The revisions aim to allow more rapid access to clinical trials which Smith says shows the intent of prioritising patients in the UK .
Similarly, expected updates to the 2004 Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations were positively noted by Shasheen Payoe, PhD, Clinical Account Manager at German biotech Miltenyi Biotec. On 21 October 2024, legislation was proposed to create a new regulatory framework to allow for the manufacturing of personalised or short shelf-life medicines at or near point of patient care.
“I think there is one bottleneck that still needs further consideration at the NHS sites, and that’s the research workforce,” said Karolin Kroese, programme office lead at the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Network. According to Kroese, NHS doctors and research nurses work with too little time and too few incentives, trying to balance busy clinics and delivering clinical trials.
Several other issues compound hospitals’ lack of capacity for clinical studies, according to Dr Davy Yeung, COO at the British CRO TCR Solutions. “There is no career pathway for research nurses,” he explained about the lack of career growth opportunities, with many nurses switching to other careers to seek advancement.
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By GlobalDataThe NHS process often proves inaccessible as per the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) in England, said Richard Stephens, a patient advocate from the Cancer Research Advocates Forum. He also told Clinical Trials Arena that National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) research had shown two out of three patients were interested in joining trials. Stephens said databases, staff, and innovation are needed to unlock the UK’s cancer trial potential.
