Innovation in European healthcare – what can Sweden learn? - LIF

The Government’s funding has also contributed to the
establishment of NIHR’s two Translational Research
Partnerships (TRPs)
• TRPs offer “an efficient and effective way for companies to work with some of the UK’s leading translational research
experts” --Dr. Allison Jeynes-Ellis, Medical and Innovation Director at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical
Industry (ABPI)
• TRPs facilitate collaborative efforts between the NHS, university clinical researchers, and life science companies in
certain fields of clinical interest and unmet clinical need.
• The rationale behind TRPs is that they will attract investment from pharmaceutical companies, by providing access to
a unique network of world-class research expertise, infrastructure, and cohorts for well-characterised patients for
early stage research.
• There are currently two TRPs in operation:
– Inflammatory Respiratory Disease - including asthma, allergy, COPD, cystic fibrosis, acute lung injury,
respiratory infection
– Joint and Related Inflammatory diseases - including, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, synovitis
• A key feature to facilitate partnerships is the new set-up for a single legal agreement for collaboration with TRPs, thus
cutting red-tape and eliminating the need for companies having to negotiate with NHS Trusts and universities
individually. The NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure (NOCRI) provides a single point of access for
companies to carry out research with TRPs.
• TRPs build on the £800 million investment committed to the BRCs and BRUs. The launch of the two TRPs is
supported by the allocation of £1.3 million in developing collaborations with industry, via NOCRI.
• The activities of TRPs span a range of translational research, including pre-clinical models, exploratory trials, phase I
and phase II proof of concept clinical drug trials and other studies of medical technology and diagnostic applications.
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