A 12-month roll-out has commenced to deliver the most significant update to UK clinical trials regulation in two decades – with the aim of strengthening patient safety, accelerating approvals, enabling innovation and helping more people benefit from taking part in vital research.
First laid in Parliament in December 2024, the updated regulations are designed to put participants firmly at the centre of how trials are run, while supporting a faster, more streamlined approvals, making it easier to test new treatments in the UK. The MHRA is aiming to implement flexible and risk-proportionate regulation of clinical trials, which accelerates patient access to potentially life-saving medicines without compromising safety. This follows new analysis of clinical trial applications submitted to the MHRA over recent years, highlighting where there are opportunities for accelerating medical breakthroughs.
The reforms will:
- Put patients and their safety are at the focus of all clinical trials and bring the benefits of clinical trials to everyone.
- Cut duplication and unnecessary delays, while maintaining robust oversight of the safety of trials.
- Create a proportionate and flexible regulatory environment, reducing bureaucracy for lower-risk trials.
- Cement the UK as a destination for international trials.
- Provide a framework that is streamlined, agile and responsive to innovation.
By reducing red tape and simplifying approvals, the new framework supports the Prime Minister’s target to reduce the time from application to first participant from 250 to 150 days. It will speed up research and reduce the time it takes for promising treatments to reach patients, without compromising on safety. These reforms aim to help ensure the UK remains an attractive place to conduct global research, while continuing to protect trial participants through robust oversight.
The Combined Review – a system that lets researchers apply for ethics and regulatory approval in one go – and notification scheme for some clinical trial initial applications and amendments will now be written into law as part of the changes.
Work to bring in the new rules will continue over the coming months, backed by updated guidance and ongoing engagement with trial sponsors and researchers.
Lawrence Tallon, MHRA Chief Executive, said: “These new regulations are a key step towards a stronger, more responsive and risk-proportionate clinical trials system that works better for patients. They will help ensure people in the UK can benefit sooner from safe, carefully assessed research into new potentially life-saving medicines, while maintaining the highest standards of participant safety. By streamlining how trials are approved and run, we are making the UK a more attractive place to deliver high-quality, innovative research.”
Janet Messer, Director of Approvals Service at the Health Research Authority, said: “This is an important milestone in improving how clinical trials are set up and run in the UK. By embedding Combined Review in law, and strengthening the focus on transparency and proportionality, these changes reflect our commitment to making it easier to do high-quality research that people can trust.
“We’ve worked closely with patients, researchers and partners across the system to ensure the new regulations protect participants, while reducing unnecessary burden.
“In the coming months we’ll be publishing guidance to accompany the new regulations to support researchers through the transition period and beyond, so more people can benefit from taking part in safe, well-run research.”
