​GOSH ranked fourth in North Thames region for clinical trial activity

2 Aug 2017, 1:33 p.m.

GOSH patient with a research nurse

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH) has been ranked 4th in the North Thames region for number of active clinical research studies in 2016/17, in figures released today by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

The 2016/17 statistics show that GOSH recruited 2,704 patients to 163 studies, placing the Hospital 30th out of 449 Trusts in the UK, and amongst the most research-active acute specialist NHS Trusts.

Emma Pendleton, Deputy Director of Research and Innovation at GOSH, said, “These impressive figures recognise the expertise of our researchers as well as our commitment to ensuring our patients are given the opportunity to take part in research studies relevant to their condition. We will continue to push the boundaries to ensure that GOSH patients, as well families around the globe, can benefit from our pioneering research into children’s medicine".

Many of the clinical trials at GOSH are highly intensive, early phase studies which aim to translate the discoveries made in the laboratory into innovative ways to diagnose and treat children with some of the rarest and most complex childhood conditions. GOSH’s expertise in experimental medicine was recognised in April this year with the award of £40 million of NIHR funding to the GOSH Biomedical Research Centre and GOSH Clinical Research Facility, to support our ground breaking research over the next five years.

The League Table figures include projects supported by the NIHR’s North Thames Clinical Research Network, a prestigious network that supports research across the NHS. GOSH also runs many more research projects from basic science to late phase clinical trials.

In the North Thames region 2,141 clinical research studies were open in 2016/17 recruiting 63,588 participants. These participants joined over 665,000 participants nationally, the highest numbers since the launch of the League Table. More details are available from the NIHR.

New study finds that nasal cells protect against Covid-19 in children

New research shows that children are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID because cells in their nose are better at fighting off the virus.

New plan announced to get more children access to gene therapy treatments

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has announced plans to revolutionise how children living with a rare disease can gain access to life-changing treatments.

First-of-its-kind study into the Ketogenic diet

A ketogenic diet, which is low in carbohydrates and high in fat, shows promise as an alternative treatment option for infants with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Raising awareness on Rare Disease Day

To celebrate Rare Disease Day we invited patients and their families to try out 13 different hands-on and interactive fun and educational science and research activities for children and adults.