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Patients across the UK will have increased access to “cutting-edge” treatments, following a £100m investment from pharmaceutical companies to set up 20 research hubs, the government has announced.
In a statement published on 12 December 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the 20 commercial research delivery centres (CRDCs) will “act as regional hubs for pioneering clinical trials, creating opportunities to test innovative new treatments with the latest equipment and technology”.
The CRDCs will be established in all four UK nations and “build UK research delivery leadership into all conditions across multi-specialist centres”, including cancer, obesity and infectious diseases, such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus.
The research hubs will also “support the rapid set-up of commercial studies so patients can begin accessing treatments undergoing trials as early as possible”, the DHSC said.
It added that the hubs will support the UK’s ten-year health plan — entitled ‘Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future‘ — by shifting clinical trials into community settings. This shift is aimed to ensure that “those in under-served regions will be better able to participate in research” and boost access to new treatments in the trial stage.
The government is currently consulting on the health plan, which involves plans to shift care from hospitals to community settings, including pharmacies.
The £100m investment forms part of the £400m Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicine Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) investment programme — announced in August 2024 — which is aimed to expand clinical trials in the UK.
The funding comes from companies that are part of the VPAG scheme, which replaces the ‘Voluntary pricing and access scheme’ and sets an annual cap on the total allowed sales value of branded medicines to the NHS each year. Sales above the cap are paid back to the government via a levy.
Commenting on the investment, Baroness Gillian Merron, parliamentary under-secretary of state for patient safety, women’s health and mental health, said: “This significant private investment in health research is a powerful vote of confidence in the UK’s leading research and life sciences sector.
“The new hubs will help shift research into smaller communities, allowing more people to access cutting-edge treatments faster.”
Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: “The injection of funds from industry into this programme is an excellent example of industry and government working in partnership to improve health and drive growth. We know that industry clinical trials bring enormous benefits to the UK economy, generate revenue for the NHS and lead to improved patient outcomes in research-active hospitals.”
The DHSC’s statement added that legislation to speed up clinical trial approvals was laid in Parliament on 12 December 2024.
“It is the biggest overhaul of regulations in 20 years and will remove administrative red tape and streamline processes to get clinical trials up and running as quickly as possible,” it said.
The ‘Clinical Trials Regulations’ will come into force after a 12-month implementation period.
The legislation follows the publication of government data in July 2024, showing that the number of people recruited to commercial clinical trials in England fell by 9.2% in 2023/2024 compared with the previous year.
On 16 December 2024, the DHSC announced that the headline rebate percentage for 2025 payable on eligible sales of newer medicines under the VPAG scheme had been set at 22.9%.
Under the scheme, the amount that companies are expected to repay for old and new medicines differs, using a new affordability mechanism.
This means repayment rates on the sales of newer products to the NHS is based on sales growth, with the level of annual growth capped and any revenue exceeding this cap to be repaid.
Commenting on the 2025 VPAG payment rate, Mark Samuels, chief executive of the British Generic Manufacturers Association, said: “The significant uplift in the VPAG rebate rate underlines why it was so important the changes in the last negotiated scheme recognised the difference between older and newer medicines.”
