Access to treatments

DMD Hub used as a showcase by the National Institute for Health Research

Here at Duchenne UK, we are always pleased when our work is highlighted and brought to the attention of a wider audience. This week we were delighted to have been featured in a publication from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), who have highlighted one of our major projects, the DMD Hub, as an example of how they work alongside industry to support clinical trials. 

The NIHR is the nation’s largest funder of health and care research in the UK. Their Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are collaborations between universities and clinicians, translating lab-based scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies.  

You can read the full report here.

“"The collaboration between NIHR Newcastle BRC, the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Centre and Duchenne UK has fundamentally changed the landscape for DMD clinical trials in the UK"”

Duchenne UK launched the DMD Hub in 2016 as a collaboration between the Newcastle NIHR BRC, John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Centre and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Prior to the DMD Hub, clinical trial sites in the UK had limited capacity and experience to run trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) treatments. The Hub’s goal was to attract clinical trials to the UK by providing more funding and training for sites across the country. 

Since 2016, Duchenne UK has invested £3 million into the DMD Hub and has funded 30 posts across 11 sites. This has created a network of sites throughout the UK able to run trials for DMD treatments, and the Hub has become the main point of call for pharmaceutical companies planning to open trials in the UK. The DMD Hub has also pioneered a pump priming funding model to ensure that clinical trial posts are sustainable.  

Emily Crossley and Alex Johnson, Duchenne UK’s founders, said: “The collaboration between NIHR Newcastle BRC, the JWMDRC and Duchenne UK has fundamentally changed the landscape for DMD clinical trials in the UK, offering hope to thousands of patients, and opening up expertise and talent in the UK to industry sponsors. We are grateful for the support of the BRC and look forward to continuing our collaboration with them in the future.”

Find out more about the DMD Hub here.