Panthera engages with over 300,000 UK participants in clinical trials
Panthera, the UK’s leading clinical trial site organisation, which recruits patients and runs clinical trials on behalf of the pharma industry, has successfully connected with over 300,000 individuals across the UK, supporting advancements in medical treatments. This includes more than 200,000 healthy volunteers invited to participate in trials for preventative treatments such as vaccines for COVID-19, flu, Norovirus and HPV.
In addition, Panthera has engaged with nearly 100,000 patients with specific conditions—such as dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory, and oncology diseases — to participate in trials to develop targeted therapies.
While only 3% of the UK population currently participates in clinical trials, over 30% express a willingness to do so, demonstrating a significant opportunity for growth in public involvement.
The importance of clinical trials is highlighted in the O’Shaughnessy report on Clinical Trials, which stated:
“Even though commercial trials are a relatively small part of the UK’s overall clinical research activity, they have a disproportionately large role in delivering better health and wealth for our citizens.”
Despite a decline in NHS-registered clinical trial enrolments, independent Site Management Organisations (SMOs) like Panthera are experiencing rapid growth. With more than 50 dedicated trial sites across the UK, this sector continues to expand, providing crucial services to pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organisations (CROs).
Unlike NHS figures, the contributions of SMOs are not included in ABPI or NHS statistics, underscoring the untapped potential of these organisations in driving clinical trial success.
The UK remains a top destination for clinical trials due to its dense and diverse population, high-calibre healthcare professionals, and recent regulatory advancements by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Changes to streamline regulatory reviews have enhanced the UK’s competitiveness against European countries while offering significant cost advantages over the US.
Panthera has consistently demonstrated its leadership in the field. In four clinical trials carried out in the last 24 months, Panthera has been a top recruiter globally, contributed the first patient in the UK, and in one case globally – essential metrics for pharmaceutical companies. As testament to this, Panthera works closely with 10 out of the top 12 pharma companies and seven of the top CROs.
Chris Dodd, Panthera's Chief Commercial Officer, commented, “We have developed what we believe is the UK’s largest database of people who have expressed an interest in taking part in commercial clinical trials. This is then analysed to find people who match each study’s criteria. Some studies, like vaccines, have few restrictions, whereas others can have many restrictions. These include not previously being treated for the condition, not having other conditions, clashes with other medications, their medical history, etc. This large database allows us to rapidly enrol trials and attract even more studies to the UK.”
Participation in clinical trials offers numerous benefits, including access to cutting-edge treatments and the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking medical advancements.
Individuals interested in joining a trial can visit https://pantheraclinic.co.uk/ for more information and to check eligibility.
