Driving streamlined, Consistent Costings for Early Phase Cancer Trials

The Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) Network is at the forefront of making it easier and faster to set up early phase cancer trials in the UK. By piloting a new approach to the National Contract Value Review (NCVR), ECMC is helping to ensure that the UK remains a top destination for cutting-edge cancer research. This work is part of the UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) Programme, a Government priority for strengthening the UK’s clinical research environment, following recommendations from Lord O’Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials.

What’s the challenge

Setting up commercial clinical trials can be complex and time consuming, especially for early phase trials and for trials of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). One of the biggest hurdles is making sure costs are clear, fair, and consistent across the NHS. That’s where the NCVR comes in: it’s a national process designed to standardise how trials are costed and contracted.

While the NCVR has already made a big difference for later phase trials, early phase and ATMP trials need a more tailored approach because of their complexity.

How has the ECMC made a difference?

At the request of NHS England (NHSE), the ECMC Programme Office brought together the ECMC Network’s expertise, utilising its national reach to design and test a new, adapted NCVR process for early phase and ATMP trials. Here’s what changed:

Costing led by the research site: Instead of companies constructing the initial costing template, the lead NHS site initiated the process, ensuring costs reflected real-world delivery.

Collaboration across the network: All participating sites had a chance to review and contribute to the initial costings, making the process more transparent and consistent, and enabling valuable expertise to be shared with colleagues.

Better communication: Mandatory calls between companies and lead sites were built in, helping everyone stay aligned and resolve any challenges proactively.

National consistency: The process ensured that costs were aligned across all sites, minimising variation and delays.

The ECMC Programme Office played a central role, coordinating the pilot and making sure feedback from all stakeholders shaped the final process.

Making a difference: What the pilot achieved

Three highly complex studies, including those involving CAR-T therapies and cancer vaccines, were selected to test the ECMC NCVR-adapted costing process. The pilot demonstrated that the adapted process works, even for the most challenging trials, and provided valuable lessons for rolling out the NCVR more widely.

Want to know more?

Full details, including key findings and next steps, are available in our updated report