A new survey conducted on behalf of the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) shows that 93% of people say it is important for them that the NHS is a place where the life sciences industry can carry out clinical research.
The survey also revealed that 92% of people say it is important to them to be offered new treatments by their healthcare professional.
Last year more than 25,000 patients took part in commercial contract studies (up 26% on the previous year). The growing importance of clinical research to the general public and their enthusiasm for new treatments suggest that this number is set to rise.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, the NIHR Clinical Research Network’s chief executive officer, Jonathan Sheffield, said: “These results show that clinical research is important to people and that they value the NHS’s commitment to providing an environment where the life sciences industry can develop new treatments.
“The NIHR Clinical Research Network is dedicated to making sure we add value to this environment and ensuring that commercial companies continue to choose to carry out their research in the UK and within the NHS. This will enable us to continue to increase the number of opportunities for patients to take part in research and ultimately improve patient care.”
The survey also revealed that 95% of people think that the clinical research industry is important to the UK economy. The industry provides around 165,000 jobs nationwide.
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Content on this page is paid for and provided by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network, sponsor of the Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network clinical research zone.
