The first Unit to undertake clinical
trials within the Medical Research Council was
the Tuberculosis Research Unit which was set up in 1948,
following the introduction of the first drugs to treat
tuberculosis. Later, the Unit broadened its work, and became the
MRC Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases Unit (TCDU).
The Unit continued until the retirement of the then
director Professor Wallace Fox in 1986. The HIV Clinical
Trials Centre was set up in 1988, and included many members of the
TCDU.
The TCDU began to conduct lung cancer trials in 1958. In
1991, the lung cancer team moved from London to Cambridge to become
part of the Cancer Trials Office (CTO). This Office was
led by David Machin and had been set up in 1977 to run cancer
trials, as part of the MRC Clinical Oncology and Radiotherapy Unit
directed by Professor Norman Bleehen.
The MRC Clinical Trials Unit was formed in October 1998 to bring
together the research programmes in HIV & cancer. In
addition, the MRC Clinical Trials Unit began to plan trials in new
areas where there are important questions but there is either
insufficient infrastructure or few clinical trials at
present. These areas include multiple sclerosis, rheumatism
and blood transfusion.
Recent developments have placed the MRC
Clinical Trials Unit at the heart of clinical research in the
UK. In 2001, along with the Universities of Leeds and York,
we were commissioned by the Department of Health to run the
National Cancer Research Network (NCRN). This Network aims to
improve the speed, quality and integration of cancer research, with
the ultimate aim of improving patient care. Since the NCRN
was set up, the recruitment of patients to cancer trials has more
than doubled.
Click here to find out more about the
NCRN
Building on the NCRN model, in 2005 the
Department of Health commissioned us to work with our colleagues at
the University of Leeds to set up the UK Clinical Research Network
– now called the National Institute for Health Research Clinical
Research Network (NIHR CRN). The NIHR CRN aims to improve
patient care by co-ordinating trials in a range of areas. It
covers cancer, dementias and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes,
medicines for children, mental health, primary care and stroke.
Comprehensive research networks cover all areas of health
care.
Click here
to find out more about the UK CRN
Last Update Date : 4/23/2012
