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UK health regulator fast-tracks studies derailed by Ukraine war

   

Research that would have taken place in Ukraine or Russia could relocate to the UK

Health research studies affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are to be prioritised by the Health Research Authority, a regulatory body of the UK’s health department.

On 25 March, the HRA said it would fast-track reviews for participants in research studies affected by the war. The agency oversees the legal and ethical review process for UK health studies involving patients.

Janet Messer, director of the HRA’s approvals service, said that because of the impact the war was having on health and social care research, the UK might need to pick up studies that would have taken place in Ukraine or Russia.

“There could also be patients on clinical trials being delivered in Ukraine who are arriving in the UK and need to continue their treatment,” Messer said. 

“We’re already talking to some sponsors, and encourage all study teams who are affected to contact us for advice,” she added. “We want to act quickly as a regulator to ensure that crucial research can continue safely and quickly by providing fast-tracked ethics review.”

Proven process

The authority said its “proven expedited review process can be used for urgent public health reasons or if studies have been disrupted by world events. It was well used during the Covid-19 pandemic when new studies were set up at short notice, or existing studies were amended to learn more about how to prevent, diagnose and treat coronavirus.”

More than 700 studies were fast-tracked in the first 12 months of the pandemic, it said, with the most urgent “reviewed in only 24 hours”.