Streamlining Commercial Research: Celebrating one year of unified pricing and contracts across the NHS

Since its introduction in 2023, the National Contract Value Review (NCVR) has offered a standardised approach to streamlining the costing process for commercial contract research across the UK. In a powerful example of innovation and a clear effort to demonstrate the UK as an extremely attractive destination for research, the NCVR has made clear strides in accelerating patient access to much needed treatment. Supported by the NHS standard contract and national directive on commercial research studies, the NCVR is now mandatory across secondary, specialist and mental health trusts in England, with over 270 GP practices voluntarily participating in the scheme. This initiative focuses on aligning the resources and costs required to establish commercial research studies, fostering the continued growth of clinical research for the benefit of patients and the public.

From October, the NCVR will expand to include advanced therapeutic medical products (ATMPs) and early-phase clinical trials (Phase I and II). Early results have shown that the development of the NCVR has cut the time required to initiate commercial research by 36% in the first 12-months and over 1450 reviews have been completed to date.

The ECMC hosted it's own NCVR webinar in September to discuss exciting developments with regards to Early Phase and ATMP trials, including the ECMC's own pilot program and its successes. The full presentation can be accessed here, and you can find the corresponding webinar via this link.

The ECMC has been instrumental in shaping the development of the NCVR, a system-wide tool and process that fosters a sense of collective responsibility and allows all NHS orgranisations participating in a study to operate as one.

For more information regarding the NCVR and more broadly embedding research within the NHS, please visit NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative.