GP practices and other primary care providers are set to play a bigger role in commercial clinical trials after the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) awarded almost £29m to community-based organisations across England.
The funding forms part of a £47.8m investment in equipment for 79 primary care organisations and 51 NHS trusts in England to boost their ability to deliver commercial research.
And the NIHR said that 60% of the funding will go to primary care organisations, with the aim of bringing clinical trials closer to patients in local communities.
The equipment – ranging from diagnostic kits such as spirometers and ECG machines to scanners and mobile research vans – will help deliver the Government’s aim to ‘turbocharge’ clinical trials, said the NIHR.
The award is funded by the Voluntary Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) Investment Programme, a partnership between the Government and the pharmaceutical industry.
Now in its third year, the NIHR’s Capital Investment Funding competition has expanded beyond NHS trusts, with eligibility extended to a wider range of primary care providers.
Eligible applicants included GP practices, GP federations, Primary Care Networks, Integrated Care Boards and Community Interest Companies providing NHS primary care.
As well as funding equipment, the investment will also support building refurbishments and modular facilities to modernise research space.
Funding will go to mobile research vans equipped for screening and diagnostics to increase patient recruitment and reduce geographic inequalities in locations including Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.
It will also boost the diagnostic infrastructure including fibroscanners, Accuvein scanners and ultrasound scanners to support trial set-up and delivery.
And there will be specialty pharmacy refurbishments to address barriers to commercial clinical trials, including in York and Scarborough, Sheffield and the North Midlands.
The NIHR said the focus was on addressing bottlenecks in research delivery and ensuring organisations across diverse settings are equipped to meet the needs of industry.
Dr Zubir Ahmed, Health Innovation and Safety Minister, said that targeting the investment in primary care would give ‘patients everywhere the chance to benefit from the latest medical breakthroughs on their doorstep, regardless of where they live or their background’.
Dr Janet Valentine, executive director of innovation and research policy at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said that the funding would expand the ability of GP practices and community providers to offer research opportunities.
‘Importantly, investment in mobile research units will help extend the reach of clinical trials into underserved communities, ensuring more people can benefit from taking part in research,’ she said.
Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and chief executive of the NIHR, said the NIHR was ‘showing its commitment to shifting research out of hospitals and into local communities’.
‘This helps to make research more equitable, enhances the UK’s reputation for delivering world-class commercial research, and helps position the country as an attractive place for companies to invest,’ said Prof Chappell.
The VPAG programme is designed to boost the global competitiveness of the UK life sciences sector and stimulate economic growth by accelerating commercial clinical trials, boosting NHS research capacity, and supporting sustainable, innovative medicine manufacturing.
