The International Accrediting Organization for Clinical Research (IAOCR) and the UK NHS’s Research and Development (R&D) Forum have announced their collaboration, newly launching the UK Clinical Trials Talent Taskforce to attract, develop and retain people working in the clinical research sector.
The launch follows Lord James O’Shaughnessy’s state of commercial clinical trials in the UK report in May, which provided several recommendations to reduce the decline in the sector.
The report called for the UK government to double the number of people participating in commercial clinical trials over the next two years and double it again by 2027.
In 2022, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) published a report that highlighted a 41% reduction in new trial initiations between 2017 and 2021.
Set up by the NHS R&D Forum and the IAOCR, the new taskforce will support the development of a ‘holistic ecosystem’ as part of Lord O’Shaughnessy’s call for “exceptional best practice” for talent attraction, development, professional recognition and retention in the UK.
Jacqueline North, chief executive officer, IAOCR and Global Clinical Site Accreditation (GCSA), said: “While the UK possesses a plethora of talent solutions across the private and public sector, the current offering is fragmented [and] will require an exceptional workforce enabled by exceptional education, career development and professional recognition.”
The taskforce will survey the current situation in UK clinical trials to identify existing best practices and gaps and recommend ways to enhance established and future talent in the public and private sectors.
It will also consider the recommendations underlined in Professor Dame Angela McLean’s report, which reviewed the life sciences regulatory system in the UK.
The report recommended the creation of US-style Centres of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs) to provide a skills pipeline.
Both reports have “recognised that the design, delivery and implementation of clinical research is complex and multi-disciplinary”, said Angela Topping, NHS R&D Forum Executive Member and Head of the Newcastle Joint Research Office (NJRO).
She added that we “need a systems-wide approach to ensure that we have career pathways which support and nurture our clinical research talent to benefit the UK as a whole”.
The taskforce will “utilise existing products and services from the UK’s expert provider network” and will focus on NHS and commercial sector clinical trial staff in the UK.