Commercial clinical trials in the UK: the Lord O’Shaughnessy review

In Feb 2023, the government commissioned an independent review into how to resolve key challenges in conducting commercial clinical trials in the UK and transform the UK commercial clinical trial environment. The final report and government response have now been published.

SPS commentary:

The review makes 27 recommendations and the government welcomes all in principle, with 5 headline commitments backed by £121 million:

  • Substantially reduce the time taken for approval of commercial clinical trials, with the goal of reaching a 60-day turnaround time for all approvals
  • Deliver a comprehensive and mandatory national approach to contracting
  • Provide ‘real-time’ data on commercial clinical activity in the UK
  • Establish a common approach to contacting patients about research
  • Establish clinical trial acceleration networks

Department of Health and Social Care