Today (20th May) marks International Clinical Trials Day 2021, and to mark the day Keele University’s Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) have offered their profound thanks to the thousands of participants who have contributed to vital medical trials at the University over recent years, and especially over the last 12 months during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the past year as the world has faced the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of robust healthcare research has become more apparent than ever, particularly clinical trials which were fast-tracked as scientists worked to develop effective vaccines, which have now been rolled out widely around the world.

Over the past 12 months Keele University’s Clinical Trials Unit has participated in a number of crucial trials in the fight against Covid-19. These have included the REACT-2 study, a national programme to evaluate pioneering diagnostic tests for the coronavirus which helped to determine how many people have been infected with the Covid-19 virus, and the Novavax Vaccine Trial hosted by the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) to test the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine developed by US biotechnology company Novavax.

Clinical trials like these have been pivotal to understanding Covid-19 and contributing to the development of testing measures and vaccines to prevent the spread of the disease.

Keele also supports the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of clinical trials and other high quality clinical research studies investigating new treatments for conditions such as musculoskeletal pain, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis and gout, as well as mental health, and renal conditions.

To mark International Clinical Trials Day 2021, researchers involved in these trials at Keele have offered their thanks to the thousands of people that have volunteered to take part in this vital research.

Professor Gillian Lancaster, Director of Keele CTU said: “Clinical trials are crucial for testing the safety and effectiveness of new healthcare treatments and practices that benefit patients in the NHS, before they go into general use. Without the essential contribution that participants make by volunteering to be part of clinical trials we would not have made the rapid progress that we have seen in defeating Covid-19 over the past year or so.

“International Clinical Trials Day is an annual event which is held across the world to thank all those participants who have taken part in clinical research and to highlight their involvement. On behalf of all members of Keele CTU, I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all those who have or will take part in research studies - we cannot do our work without you!”

To find out more about the Keele Clinical Trials Unit and International Clinical Trials Day please visit our website.