Support shown for clinical trials

The public were invited to get involved with medical research and show their love for scientific advances during an event in Exeter to mark International Clinical Trials Day.

Clinical trials enable researchers to explore whether new treatments and procedures are safe and effective for the general public. They are a crucial step in bringing new developments to a wide audience across the spectrum of disease.

This week staff from the University of Exeter Medical School, the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) jpoined forces to raise awareness of the value of such research.

They were on hand at the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Exeter City Centre, creating a collage of people holding a banner saying “I love clinical research because…”

People were also invited to sign up to the Exeter 10,000 Project and other medical research.

Dr Gill Baker, Manager of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility, which runs Exeter 10,000, said: “Getting involved in medical research isn’t a big commitment, yet it can yield huge benefits for people into the future. Taking part in Exeter 10,000 involves a half hour appointment and all results are anonymised. We already have more than 7,000 people signed up towards our target of 10,000, and this will provide a valuable database that scientists can use to look for patterns in understanding the root cause of disease, helping to unlock new treatments.”