Celebrating our shared commitment to patient and public involvement in research

By Dr Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the ABPI 

This week (week of 10 March) marks the three-year anniversary of our shared commitment, alongside many others in the research community, to increasing the involvement of patients and members of the public in research. 

We believe that public involvement is an essential part of health and social care research, improving its quality and impact and significantly enriching the development of innovative medicines and vaccines.

Last week, we held an event in partnership with the @Association of Medical Research Charities, focused on building knowledge and good practice to improve diversity and inclusivity in clinical trials. https://x.com/AMRC/status/1897297743028371835

The event brought together representatives from charity research funders, patients, industry, government and regulators - the first time in the UK that such a broad range of stakeholders have come together to discuss this important topic.

As well as providing a great opportunity to share experiences, learn from best practice, and encourage future partnership working, the event allowed us to reaffirm our industry’s commitment to progressing this agenda. This is particularly important with the pending clinical trials legislation encouraging applicants to consider how best to include representative populations in their clinical studies.

The ABPI Code provides the framework for the industry to conduct ethical, transparent relationships with patients and patient organisations, and our Code is clear that this brings significant public health benefits.

Whether it’s working with patients on the design and delivery of clinical trials, or making sure study information is available in clear language, it is only by working with people who will potentially be the beneficiaries of these treatments that we can be sure we are developing medicines that meet their needs.

This is why I’m proud to say that the ABPI remains committed to embedding patient and public involvement at the heart of research.

Read our resources on public involvement below, and watch out for an updated sourcebook later this year.

ABPI sourcebook: Working with patients and patient organisations 2022 https://bit.ly/3Dp66a4

PMCPA social media guidance (including on recruiting patients to clinical trials on social media) https://bit.ly/3QO3xBc  

This article originally appeared as a LinkedIn post here.