Innovative Trials CEO named top Woman in Pharma at the Pharma Industry Awards UK

Kate Shaw, founder and CEO of Innovative Trials, a global clinical trial patient recruitment and retention company, has been crowned a top ‘Woman in Pharma’ at the Pharma Industry Awards UK. She was given the award at a ceremony in Birmingham yesterday (Wednesday 18 September). 

Speaking about her win, Shaw said: “It’s truly humbling to be recognized by my peers in this way. The calibre of competition, not just for the Woman in Pharma award, but across all award categories, was exceptionally high. Congratulations to everyone who was shortlisted for a UK Pharma Industry Award and particularly all the deserving winners on the night.

“Throughout my career, my North Star has always been the acceleration of patient access to life-changing therapeutics. Everything I have done and achieved is centered around patients’ needs and making sure these are considered and addressed to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients, sites and sponsors. However, my win tonight would never have been possible without my incredible team behind me, who share my vision and work relentlessly to make it a reality. They are the real winners here.” 

Woman in Pharma award

The Women in Pharma award recognises the achievements of women who have made a significant contribution to the pharmaceutical sector in the UK. During a career that has spanned more than three decades so far, Shaw has led international healthcare initiatives and transformed patient recruitment approaches at one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, which significantly improved trial efficiency and success rates in the process.

She founded Innovative Trials in 2010 and, under her direction, it has become a global leader in clinical trial patient recruitment and retention solutions. Innovative Trials works with major pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organisations (CROs) on a global basis, setting new industry benchmarks and accelerating patient access to groundbreaking and life-changing treatments. 

Shaw has also established herself as a key opinion leader in pharma and inspired countless professionals to consider a career in clinical research.

Innovative Trials’ Navigator, a groundbreaking patient support centre for referral pre-screening and retention, was also shortlisted for an award: Innovation of the Year. Navigator, which launched last year, is a first-of-its-kind service developed and implemented by Innovative Trials to overcome long-standing and industry-wide clinical trial enrolment and retention challenges. It narrowly missed out on winning the Innovation of the Year award, which went to Diaceutics' DXRX Signal.

Innovative Trials has previously been named Best Global Patient Recruitment Company of 2021 by the Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Awards and was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020 for international excellence.

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