Pfizer targets Newcastle
pharmafile | May 15, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | ABPI, Cameron, NHS, Newcastle, Pfizer
Pfizer has earmarked Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as one of 60 sites worldwide to take part in a key research programme, called INSPIRE.
This should mean Newcastle will become a preferred site for conducting clinical trials for new medicines in Pfizer’s pipeline – and a ‘delighted’ prime minister David Cameron, who has been on a trip to the US this week, said Pfizer’s decision was a vindication of government policy.
“This decision shows that our efforts to cut bureaucracy and to encourage more businesses to expand in the UK are succeeding,” Cameron said. “The UK is now a much more attractive location for clinical trials.”
However, Newcastle remains so far the only INSPIRE site in the UK – the other 59 are in other locations around the world – and the UK currently accounts for only 2.4% of clinical trials globally.
A major bugbear for the ABPI is that the UK’s framework for conducting clinical research is slow, and that red tape such as the EU Clinical Trials Directive is reducing the UK’s attractiveness to pharma companies looking for somewhere to base their research.
This means it cannot compete effectively on the speed, cost and quality of trials – losing out to near neighbours such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy, and further afield to China and India.
The government’s Life Sciences Strategy has been designed to address such problems – and Newcastle has certainly secured a good shop window for its clinical trial capabilities.
“The UK is an important place for Pfizer to do research,” insisted the company’s UK managing director Jonathan Emms. “We want to see a strong research culture in the NHS and a positive environment for life sciences in the UK.”
Partnerships between industry and the NHS would help bring the latest innovative medicines and treatments to UK patients, he added.
The Trust already works closely with Newcastle University as part of the Newcastle Joint Research Office which aims to co-ordinate skills, experience and resources within both organisations.
“We have world-class clinical research facilities supported by the National Institute for Health Research, and over 300 leading clinical research staff,” said Paddy Stevenson, NIHR operations manager at Newcastle Hospitals. “We look forward to a productive partnership with Pfizer that will benefit patients.”
To be chosen as an INSPIRE site, organisations must demonstrate they are running trials to high standards within deadlines, and have high quality staff and resources.
They also need expertise in Pfizer’s key disease areas, and the US firm currently has ongoing clinical studies with Newcastle in gastro-intestinal conditions, infectious diseases, oncology and inflammation.
Adam Hill
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