LPT welcomes review after making substantial investment in the network

The Little Princess Trust made headlines this year with its support of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) network.

And now the ECMCs have themselves made the news after being praised in an independent review of the UK’s clinical trials.

The government appointed Lord James O’Shaughnessy to identify ways to help the life sciences sector unlock UK growth and investment opportunities.

His report has now been published and, among its many findings, was an acknowledgement of the progress being made by the ECMCs across the country.

Lord O’Shaughnessy also identified some areas to improve clinical trials. One such recommendation was to speed up the process of starting trials.

The Little Princess Trust also recognised this as an issue and this was one of the reasons why we began to support the ECMCs this year by giving £2.2 million to the network.

 

The funding, which was matched by CRUK and the National Institute of Health and Care Research, means a total of £6.6 million will go to scientists searching for cutting-edge treatments for childhood cancers.

This sum is treble the amount that had gone to the ECMS in the previous five-year period.

Writing in the report, Lord O’Shaughnessy said there had been an increase in trial opportunities coming to the ECMC network thanks to an “increase in engagement with approximately 80 pharmaceutical, biotech, clinical research organisations and academic institutions since 2016”.

He also praised the way the “initial intelligence-gathering phase of projects” had “radically accelerated the set-up phase of oncology trials”.

This, Lord O’Shaughnessy added, will be further developed with stakeholders to co-create new ways of working and piloting new approaches.

Everyone associated with The Little Princess Trust is proud to support the ECMC paediatric network, which we see as a truly national and inclusive network supporting all scientifically valid academic and commercial trials.

To read Lord O’Shaughnessy’s full report, click here.