New report shows that clinical research improves health of UK economy

A new report has evaluated the value of clinical research to the NHS, the UK economy and jobs market, providing an assessment of the economic impact of the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network’s (NIHR CRN) activities to support clinical research in England.

The report, from KPMG UK’s Economics team and covering the period 2016/17 to 2018/19, shows that over this period, clinical research generated an estimated £8 billion of gross value added (GVA) and 47,467 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs for the UK.

“The report highlights and evidences the significant contribution that the delivery of clinical research within the UK makes to the health and the wealth of the nation,” said Dr Jonathan Sheffield OBE, Chief Executive of the NIHR Clinical Research Network. “Put simply, clinical research benefits our economy enormously – it creates jobs, and generates much-needed income and savings for NHS Trusts – ultimately helping NHS finances to go further while improving patient care and services through the development of new drugs and treatments.”

Further key findings from the report over the three-year period include:

• The estimated annual economic contribution of NIHR CRN supported studies increased by £0.1 billion (GVA) – up from £2.6 billion in FY 2016/17, to £2.7 billion in FY 2018/19
• For each patient recruited on to a commercial trial supported by the NIHR CRN, on average NHS providers in England received an estimated £9,200 from life sciences companies, and on average saved an estimated £5,800 per patient (where trial drugs replaced the standard treatment)
• The number of studies and patients recruited onto NIHR CRN supported studies have both increased by approximately 30 percent in three years.

“The benefits to the UK of a strong and productive NIHR Clinical Research Network, working in partnership with the NHS, are clearly demonstrated in this report,” added Matt Cooper, Business Development and Marketing Director at the NIHR Clinical Research Network. “It describes sustained growth in the Clinical Research Network Portfolio of both clinical research and its value to the UK economy – £2.7 billion in 2018/19, an increase of £300 million from the previous report in 2016.”