The UK Clinical Research Network--building a world-class infrastructure for clinical research

Abstract

The recognition by both the academic and commercial sectors that clinical research in the UK was under threat led to the development of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) in 2004. This brought together for the first time funders of clinical research in the UK from the public, charity and private sectors, academic institutions, regulatory bodies and patients and the public. Strengthening the research infrastructure for clinical research was one of the key workstreams of the UKCRC with the goal of building on the UK’s unique advantage of the NHS to produce a world-class infrastructure for clinical research. The establishment of the National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) in 2000 demonstrated that providing new resources to strengthen the research workforce led to a more than doubling of recruitment to clinical trials and other well-designed studies in 3 yrs. The provision of new resources to set up research networks in five additional topics, mental health (in 2003), dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, medicines for children and stroke (all in 2005) was the next step and a primary care network followed in 2007. All of these networks were tasked both to establish the infrastructure within the NHS in England to support clinical trials and other well-designed studies and also to oversee a portfolio of high-quality research. Parallel activities were initiated in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was widely acknowledged that there were other important areas of disease and health care need, particularly those such as musculoskeletal, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that cause major morbidity and/or mortality, which also need to be supported and this was addressed in the new NHS R&D Strategy Best Research for Best Health that was launched in 2006. This included plans for the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and for a Comprehensive Clinical Research Network (CCRN) in England to support clinical research in all areas of disease and health care need.