U.K.'s boost to cancer trials

The U.K.'s National Health Service plans to support a plan by the National Translational Cancer Research Network (NTRAC) to improve coordination of early stage clinical trials in cancer. NHS has allocated a budget of £10 million ($15.8 million) to NTRAC over the next five years.

NTRAC, a network of the top 10 cancer research institutes in the U.K., will create a single point of contact for patients and researchers for Phase I and II studies. As part of that goal, the network will coordinate efforts by government, cancer charities, and the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Phase III trials will be coordinated by another group, the National Cancer Research Network (NCRN). Both are part of the wider NHS Cancer Plan, which was set up after the government realized that the U.K. had survival rates far behind all other EU countries. ...