NHS should be ‘jewel in the crown’ for UK biotech
pharmafile | May 7, 2009 | News story | Research and Development | NICE
The NHS could be the 'jewel in the crown' of UK medical research, if it would only assist in clinical research, according to biotech leaders.
Instead of involving patients in trials, the NHS has served as a deterrent for companies conducting research in this country, according to Sir David Cooksey.
The author of the influential report commissioned by the Treasury in 2006, Cooksey says his vision of a joined-up healthcare and medical research community has yet to be realised.
Addressing the recent BioFinance and BioInnovate conference in London he said: "The NHS is an incredibly slow and ponderous organisation. It should be the jewel in our crown, but instead is actually perilously close to driving the whole system into ground."
The NHS is a unique system that could benefit companies in trials as it holds patient data recorded since birth, and dates back 60 years – information that could prove invaluable to companies seeking patient populations with which to trial new drugs.
But the NHS has over the years shown resistance to the participating in studies, partly due to its distrustful relationship with the industry, and also due to British doctors' scepticism over new products.
New incentives
Though industry could soon see some positive change. From April 2009, PCTs have been given responsibility to try and involve patients in clinical trials, and are to receive government incentives for doing so.
Sir David Cooksey welcomed the move but said changing behaviour in the NHS was "like trying to stir treacle".
Aisling Burnand, chair of the BioIndustry Association (BIA), agreed with his view of the health service, but said introducing incentives was a move in the right direction.
She said: "The only way that I believe you can move things faster is by incentivising the trusts and individuals. If the incentives are right, then you'll get the behavioural change. If there aren't really incentives there, and it's more the stick, then it'll happen but it'll happen over ten fifteen years."
She added that enough time had been spent looking the situation, and what benefit the NHS could be to the struggling industry, but now it was time for action.
National Database
One proposal on the table is the government's scheme to pool all patient data into a national electronic database – an idea that has so far been opposed by many GPs and notably the Conservative party, for reasons of cost and security.
But Burnand said the set up of a national database was something the industry should try and get delivered, as it would change the dynamics in research significantly.
She added: "The NHS could then become a key tool for the industry, that could also attract American investment, as they might want to do their trials here due to the importance of the data that could be mined anonymously to help in studies."
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