About Us

Early Phase Cancer Clinical Trials Programme

The team comprises of a group of leading clinicians across medical oncology and haematology that are highly skilled in running complex Phase I/II clinical trials.  These Principal Investigators are supported by Clinical Fellows, Research Nurses, Trial co-ordinators, data managers, laboratory scientists and pharmacists to deliver a robust and diverse portfolio of trials. 

The team benefits from full integration with UCLH, a world class research hospital, providing expertise in Imaging,  Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics as well as a wide array of different clinical specialities.

Our Aims

To be a world-class early phase clinical trials programme, conducting high quality trials investigating novel cancer therapies.

Set-up, maintain and manage clinical trials through a trial life-cycle to ensure patients have a stream of available trials and treatment options.

Innovate and develop new clinical trials in collaboration with academic and industry partners.

How We Operate

UCLH/UCL is both a Cancer Research UK Centre and an Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre providing key infrastructure for cancer research. The UCLH/UCL partnership has been awarded Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre status by the National Institute for Health Research and Cancer is a major theme.

NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility

The NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility (CRF) opened in February 2009, in the heart of Bloomsbury. It is a partnership between University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust. The facility is funded principally by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

The CRF is also supported by funding from Cancer Research UK and the ECMC. It has a remit to progress high quality clinical research in any domain but with a specific focus on early-phase clinical trials and experimental medicine. 

Our Expertise

Over the past two years we have recruited over 280 patients* across a diverse portfolio running approximately 94 open to recruitment clinical trials* across a variety of drug categories and cancer tumour groups.

* January 2019 – January 2022

Our early phase cancer trials programme has a diverse portfolio of trials focused across on a wide range of different tumour categories.

Over the year we have showcased an expansive portfolio of cancer clinical trials across the following tumour groups:

Visit the Early Phase Cancer Trials Portfolio page to view our full Portfolio and current 'Open to Recruitment' clinical trials.

Our Funders

We are funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), alongside grants from CRUK and the ECMC.

NIHR Biomedical research centre (BRC)

The UCLH Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is a partnership between University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) and UCL (University College London). The UCLH BRC was established in 2007 as one of five centres that were competitively awarded funding by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to support world leading clinical translational research. In September 2016, the UCLH BRC was awarded £114M for 2017-2022 to enable continued growth in our experimental medicine and early translational research programmes.

Cancer is a key theme of the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre and supports the infrastructure of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility (CRF). The NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is a purpose-built environment dedicated to experimental medicine and clinical research. More information regarding the UCLH CRF can be found on the Our Structure page.

More information on the UCLH BRC can be found on their website link - The UCLH Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

Cancer research uk (CRUK)

CRUK is a leading UK registered charity responsible for leading and funding research in all aspects of cancer. Alongside funding the cancer theme of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility, they also fund the Cancer Research UK UCL Centre.

Information about CRUK can be found on their website at Cancer Research UK.

The Cancer Research UK UCL Centre (CRUK UCL Centre) is part of a national network of 13 research centres funded by Cancer Research UK dedicated to delivering world-leading cancer research, improved care for cancer patients and greater local engagement. More details can be found on the CRUK UCL Centre website.

Experimental cancer medicine centre (ECMC)

The Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) Network is a unique UK-wide initiative jointly funded by Cancer Research UK and the Health Departments of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Providing £70 million of infrastructure support, the Network of 18 centres brings together world-leading scientists and clinicians to drive the discovery, development and testing of new anti-cancer treatments for patients.

Further details on the network can be found on the ECMC website.

The Centre supports a dedicated Clinical Research Facility (CRF) based at UCLH where a team of devoted medical staff including oncologists, research nurses and trial coordinators work together on a large portfolio of clinical trials, offering patients access to the latest new drugs. More details can be found on the ECMC at the UCL Cancer Institute website.