The UK is now conducting around 30 per cent fewer clinical trials than a decade ago, and its global ranking for late-stage (Phase III) commercial trials has slipped from 4th in 2017 to 8th in 2023. The UK’s share of global patient recruitment has also declined, falling to 2.6 per cent in 2022, and industry investment has reduced, with life sciences R&D spend dropping by almost £100 million in 2023 [1].
This downward trend matters.
Clinical research brings billions into the NHS, accelerates access to innovative treatments and fuels an industry that contributes £17.6 billion in GVA and supports more than 126,000 skilled jobs across the UK [2].
Graphnet is committed to supporting this national priority. By enabling responsible access to rich, longitudinal health and care data, we help research partners design stronger studies, identify eligible cohorts and understand outcomes across real clinical environments.
Our aim is simple: make it easier, faster and more efficient to deliver impactful clinical trials that benefit patients and the wider health and care system.
Why Graphnet?
The UK’s Leading Provider of Shared Care Records and Population Health Analytics
- Graphnet is the No. 1 supplier of integrated care records in England, with data for over 20 million patients held across our shared care record deployments.
- We are also the No. 1 supplier of population health analytics, supporting more than 17 million people across multiple Integrated Care Systems.
This dual leadership gives research organisations access to one of the most comprehensive and representative data environments in the country, covering:
- Primary care
- Acute Trusts
- Community services
- Mental health and social care
- Remote monitoring and long-term condition pathways
Depth of Data, Built for Real-World Insight
Graphnet’s platforms bring together rich, longitudinal datasets spanning entire health and care systems. This supports:
- Precise cohort identification
- Accurate study feasibility
- Retrospective and prospective analyses
- Long-term outcomes and real-world evidence generation
Remote monitoring pathways add an additional layer of insight, with over 75,000 patients already supported across a range of long-term condition programmes.
Trusted by the NHS for More Than 30 Years
As one of the NHS’s longest-standing digital health partners, we operate within strict governance, security and transparency frameworks. Researchers and trial sponsors can rely on:
- Ethical, controlled and auditable data access
- Insights generated within established NHS governance processes
- A strong commitment to patient privacy and public trust
Capabilities That Directly Support Clinical Trials
Our clinical research offer builds on Graphnet’s proven strengths in:
- Population health analytics
- Cohort segmentation and risk stratification
- Remote monitoring and long-term outcomes
- Shared care record integration and longitudinal data
- System-wide research and service redesign initiatives
These capabilities help address current challenges in the UK clinical research landscape, enabling more efficient trial design, better feasibility assessment and improved recruitment pipelines - all essential to supporting national ambitions for revitalising clinical research.
Sources:
[1] https://www.abpi.org.uk/publications/uk-industry-clinical-trials-translating-actions-into-impact/
[2] https://www.abpi.org.uk/publications/creating-the-conditions-for-investment-and-growth/
