5 Conclusions
123. For several years the Government has been aware
of the key barriers to conducting clinical trials in the UK, and
some progress has been made in eliminating them. We are satisfied
that the introduction of the new European Clinical Trials Regulation
will, if implemented as currently envisaged, make it easier to
conduct trials across the EU, and we also consider the creation
of the HRA to be a potentially significant step forward. Nevertheless,
we consider that more can and should be done to make the UK a
more attractive location to conduct clinical trials.
124. The UK regulatory and governance landscape for
clinical trials remains complex, and not all researchers are yet
aware of the ways in which the HRA can help them to navigate a
path through this environment. The Government has also failed,
so far, to eliminate the biggest barrier to initiating a clinical
trial in the UK—the requirement for multiple NHS R&D
approvals. In addition, despite positive public attitudes towards
medical research, it is disappointingly difficult for the public
to find out about potential research opportunities, and while
we welcome the re-launch of the Clinical Trials Gateway, we consider
that it has not yet reached its full potential. We are confident
that the Government is aware of these problems and the need to
resolve them, but its promises have yet to be matched by effective
action. We strongly urge the Government to act on our recommendations
and put an end to these long-standing issues, so that the UK can
continue to make progress towards being the location of choice
for the global life sciences industry.
125. Today, many of the clinical trials taking place
in the UK remain unregistered and unpublished and their data continue
to be unavailable to both the general public and the scientific
community. This is unacceptable and we have not been impressed
by the Government's efforts to resolve this important issue. Until
recently, the Government has apparently been content to leave
it to other groups at the national, European and global level
to lead the way in tackling the problem of trial transparency
and, while UK initiatives alone cannot solve what is a global
problem, we do not accept limited jurisdiction as a legitimate
excuse for Government inaction. We call on the Government to
take decisive steps, as outlined in this Report, to ensure greater
transparency in all future trials conducted in the UK, in order
to demonstrate to the rest of the world how effective solutions
might one day be applied at a global level.
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