Introducing the new NIHR National Patient Recruitment Centres

The five new NIHR National Patient Recruitment Centres (NPRCs) are set to shape the future of commercial clinical trials in the UK by offering new ways to conduct late-phase, large-scale research projects.

One of the Sector Deal 2 commitments within the Government’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy, the NPRCs are the first NIHR-funded research infrastructure that is 100% dedicated to delivering commercial research.

The regional NPRCs have been distributed across the country to provide opportunities for patients in regions across England who may not previously have been able to take part in cutting edge clinical studies.

They have also been designed to improve the speed and consistency with which commercial research is delivered in the NHS and, by making it easier and quicker to deliver commercial research, the NPRCs will improve the UK’s competitiveness in the global market.

This pharmaphorum webinar, held in association with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), took place on Thursday 12^th November, 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET and will introduce the new NIHR National Patient Recruitment Centres and look at how the NPRCs will take a patient-centric approach to pharmaceutical research.

The expert panel also discussed how the NPRCs will help patients benefit from early access to innovation and assist industry with new approaches to research, including virtual, hybrid and decentralised trials.

Focus

The webinar will also cover:

• What the NPRCs’ franchise model means for research delivery
• How the centres will provide quicker and easier clinical studies
• How they will engage non-hospitalised patients with common chronic conditions
• How they can serve as a test bed for pharmaceutical innovation
• How they could facilitate clinical engagement with late-phase research

View the webinar on demand* by clicking on the link in the window above or by clicking here.

Our Panel

Helen Quinn is the Director of the Joint Office for Clinical Research, a collaboration between the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust. Helen has previously held senior positions within the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Networks including chief operating officer and lead for nursing for the NIHR Clinical Research Network in the South West Peninsula. She has also held two national roles including director of delivery and business change director overseeing the amalgamation of the topic and comprehensive research networks.

Dinesh Saralaya has been a consultant respiratory physician and honorary senior lecturer at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since 2014. He has served as Director of the National NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre, Bradford since June 2020 and is also a visiting professor at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Bradford. He leads the severe asthma service at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Respiratory Clinical Trials unit at the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR). Dinesh set up the severe asthma service in Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2006 and has published several of his research projects on severe asthma since then.

Yan Yiannakou is a consultant gastroenterologist and Clinical Director of the NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre (Newcastle). He has been a director of R&D and has also served as regional clinical lead for commercial research for the NIHR Local Clinical Research Network (NENC). His main interest is in improving access to clinical trials through community-based participation, consent for contact registries and a digital media platform. He has used innovative and collaborative strategies to develop and refine a multi-modality ‘recruitment engine’ and led one of the UK’s first ‘virtual’ interventional trials.

Melanie J Davies is Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester and an honorary consultant diabetologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. She is based in the Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester and is also the Co-Director of the Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. She is a National Institute for Health Research senior investigator emeritus, director of the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre and director of the Leicester Patient Recruitment Centre.

Dr Gavin Galasko BM BCh MA DM (Oxon) FRCP is a consultant interventional cardiologist and the Director of Research, Development and Innovation at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In 2017 he became the director of research, development and innovation for his Trust and in 2020 the Cardiology Research Team at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals won the research team of the year in the North West Coast annual research awards. He is an honorary senior lecturer at Liverpool University; an honorary senior research fellow at the University of Salford, and an honorary clinical senior lecturer at the University of Buckingham.

Dominic Tyer, Interim Managing Editor, pharmaphorum [moderator] Dominic Tyer is a trained journalist and editor with 19 years of pharmaceutical and healthcare publishing experience. He serves as interim managing editor at pharmaphorum media, which facilitates productive engagement for pharma, bringing healthcare together to drive medical innovation. He is also creative and editorial director at the company’s specialist healthcare content consultancy, pharmaphorum connect.