Could UK clinical trial revamp unlock closer ties with Canada?
There's been a lot of talk about forging closer ties between Europe and Canada in response to the US' aggressive disruption of international trade. Now, two senior figures in Canada's life sciences sector have said they see scope for greater collaboration with the UK.
Susan Marlin, chief executive of Clinical Trials Ontario, and Invest Ontario's life sciences lead Garrett Tone, say changes to the UK's clinical trials regulations introduced earlier this year could pave the way for collaborations that could accelerate the development and delivery of new medicines.
In April, the UK introduced a host of changes to its clinical trial regulatory framework – designed to deliver streamlined approvals for new studies, faster setup times, and improved transparency about the design of studies and their results – which have been welcomed by the pharma industry as a key step in reversing years of decline in UK clinical research.
According to Marlin and Tone, the reforms bring the UK's clinical trials framework into closer alignment with many of the principles that have guided the Canadian province of Ontario's approach to modernising clinical research.
They point out that Ontario is Canada's largest life sciences jurisdiction and the most productive clinical trials hub per capita in the G7, home to more than 2,000 life sciences companies and internationally recognised research hospitals and universities.
That includes UK-headquartered group AstraZeneca, which last year revealed a CAD 820 million investment to expand its R&D facilities in Mississauga and move its Canadian HQ, creating 700 new jobs.
"Many of the principles reflected in the UK's updated framework are areas where Ontario has built significant experience over many years, including streamlined processes, collaborative approaches, and a focus on efficient trial delivery," said Marlin.
"These reforms create a strong foundation for deeper UK-Ontario collaboration, supporting the delivery of international clinical trials and advancing research, particularly in areas of strength across our two jurisdictions, such as oncology, precision medicine, rare diseases, AI-enabled trials, and real-world evidence generation," she added.
Tone, meanwhile, said that Invest Ontario is ready to play its part in fostering such closer relationships.
"The regulatory changes provide a timely opening, but collaboration does not happen through policy alone. It requires companies, research organisations, and governments to identify where their capabilities genuinely fit together and create the conditions for meaningful partnerships," he added.
"Ontario is ready to play and build on that role. Our ambition is to help UK businesses access the people, institutions, and infrastructure they need to grow, while supporting partnerships that accelerate the global development of new treatments."
The comments come as the US and Canada have become increasingly embroiled in a bitter trade war, with President Trump's unpredictable and scattergun use of tariffs – and Canada's response with counter-tariffs – prompting calls for stronger economic ties between the world's 'middle powers'. Along with Europe and Canada, that could include countries like Australia, Japan, and South Korea, according to economists.
Canada and the EU, for example, are negotiating a broad trade deal that would build a quasi-single market relationship, but stop short of full EU membership.
