The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicine Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) Investment Programme will allocate 75% of its £400m investment to expand the UK’s capacity and capability for commercial clinical trials.

The Governments manifesto to modernise the NHS outlines plans to maximise its potential to lead the world in clinical trials. NHS patients will have earlier access to new treatments and the UK will become the home of cutting-edge health research.

The World-first public-private investment programme worth up to £400 million, which was announced on 28 August 2024 will channel significant investment into the UK’s health and life sciences sector over the next five years to kickstart economic growth and give patients earlier access to new treatments.

New Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs) will be established across the four nations, with up to 15 NIHR CRDCs in England. The CRDCs will:
• enhance and build upon the UK’s commercial clinical trials infrastructure
• support diversification of clinical trials to primary, community and social care setting to make taking part in research as easy as possible
• increase research inclusion to ensure people from all eligible communities and those living with the greatest burden of disease can participate in clinical trials
• drive innovation and act as a test bed for new approaches to delivering commercial research, working with research infrastructure across the UK
• fast-track the development of new medicines to patients

The NIHR CRDCs in England will launch on 1 April 2025.
More than 5,600 life sciences businesses already operate in the UK, including all of the top 25 global pharmaceutical companies and top 30 global medical technology companies. More than 300,000 people are directly employed in the industry and the UK is also a hub for global talent.

This conference will provide the platform for attendees from the NHS, health research communities and prominent members of the life sciences sector to discuss Investment in cutting-edge medicines research, boosting economic growth potential and the prospect of new treatments and technologies for modern patient care.