NHS Confederation welcomes new EU clinical trial laws

The NHS Confederation has welcomed an announcement by the European Commission that could greatly benefit the UK clinical trial sector.

Published draft legislation from the commission is set to amend the controversial EU Clinical Trials Directive, which almost doubled the amount of time taken to launch clinical studies, while resulting in a 25 per cent drop in the number of trials across the EU.

The new changes will vastly reduce the amount of bureaucracy the 2004 law created, thus improving access to innovative medicines and bolstering the UK economy.

Elisabetta Zanon, director of the NHS Confederation's European office, said the confederation has been pushing for these changes and will now pledge to fight for a final agreement that will work in favour of the NHS.

She added: "This will bring real improvements to the lives of patients and will be fighting to ensure the final agreement is good for the NHS, patients and the economy."

Last week, the organisation called for improvements to national social care funding models, based on concerns that cutbacks could be hurting patient care quality.