The NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre: Exeter has changed its name to the Royal Devon Commercial Research Centre.

The centre will not be funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) however, it will continue to build on the strong track record established by the NIHR PRC:Exeter over the past five years.
Alongside our new name, we’ll be joining 9 other independent partners to become the South West Commercial Research Group. This brings together acute, community, and mental health NHS Trusts, GP surgeries, and healthcare providers, all working together to increase access to life-changing clinical research.

What was the Patient Recruitment Centre: Exeter (PRC:Exeter)?

The NIHR PRC: Exeter was one of five national centres dedicated to setting up and delivering late-phase, large-scale commercial clinical trials. Funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), the network launched in 2020.

The national decision to transition the NIHR PRC network into Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs) created the opportunity to establish an independent centre for commercial research at the Royal Devon.

What do the changes mean?

This change reflects that whilst we no longer have NIHR funding for our centre, that as a Trust we have an ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality commercial research and ensuring more people have access to clinical trials.

Whilst our name has changed, your participation in our research trials remain the same and you will continue to receive excellent care and support from the same team. If you have any questions about this change or your involvement in a trial, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The new South West Commercial Research Group

The South West Commercial Research Group is a collaboration of 10 key partners from across acute, community, integrated care and mental health NHS Trusts, and GP surgeries.

We are working together to increase access to life-changing commercial clinical research, supporting ongoing patient recruitment and the delivery of commercial clinical trials and studies. We are also collaborating with the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN) to support NIHR commercial research.

As part of the transition, we will soon be launching a new website for the South West Commercial Research Group. While the site is still under development, we will be setting up temporary pages where you can stay informed on the latest developments.