Good to see a broad coalition of UK organisations including AMRC issue this joint statement today urging for the ongoing revision of EU Clinical Trials Directive to culminate in less bureaucracy for funders and others when setting up and running trials.

No one would argue with the need to put patient safety first but I have yet to see good evidence that the current regime with it’s many hoops to jump through has been a positive for patients.

But thinning out the regulations while maintaining public trust will require action both at home and in Brussels.

At home, of course, we await the arrival of the new Health Research Agency. Due to be set up as a Special Health Authority by the end of the year (the statutory instrument necessary to create it has been tabled today) people will be watching for early and key indicators of it’s tone and style as a regulator. These include who will be it’s first Chair and who will sit on it’s Board.