To celebrate the Academy’s 20th birthday, we have put together a snapshot of 20 of our biggest impacts. To find out more about our 20th celebrations and our future plans, read this blog by our President Professor Sir Robert Lechler, and follow #AMS20 on social media.
The Academy would like to thank all our funders, partners and collaborators, without whom none of this work would be possible.
#6 Cutting research red tape
“The Academy leads the way in bringing key players together, allowing different sectors to identify areas of common concern and to find a way to fix problems. The introduction of a better regulatory framework for health research has been a major boost to UK science and would not have happened without the hard work of the Academy.”
Sir David Cooksey GBE FMedSci, Founding Chairman of The Francis Crick Institute
Medical research can only thrive if it is regulated in a way that supports the needs of society, facilitates high-quality studies and accords with robust ethical principles.
Ahead of the UK general election in 2010 the Academy raised serious concerns that the UK regulatory environment was hampering research for patient benefit. As a result, the Government commissioned the Academy to undertake a comprehensive review of UK health research regulation. Based on over 300 written evidence submissions, the report laid out a regulatory overhaul to widespread support from researchers, funders and patients. Our review led to the establishment of the Health Research Authority in primary legislation, streamlining regulatory processes that had previously delayed research.
The Academy has continued to champion a proportionate approach to the regulation and governance of health research in areas such as clinical trials and medical devices, and to highlight where regulation aimed at preventing the misuse of drugs is hampering research into treatments for unmet need.
To find out more about our work, visit our homepage. To support the work of the Academy, see our dedicated Support us webpage.
