We are very pleased to be able to share with you our first ever DMD Hub Impact Report. The report details all the incredible achievements and progress we have made to expand clinical trial capacity since 2014.
The DMD Hub is a network of hospitals expanding clinical trial capacity in the UK for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In a ground-breaking collaboration with the NHS and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), we created the DMD Hub, which, in just three years, has funded 30 posts, brought more companies and income to the NHS through pharmaceutical studies, and helped recruit more than 250 boys to take part in DMD trials who otherwise may not have had that opportunity.
In 2014 Duchenne UK teamed up with Newcastle and Great Ormond Street (GOSH) hospitals to address a chronic lack of clinical trial capacity for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) in the UK. Despite there being a wealth of knowledge and experience at both these sites, they were turning away trials for lack of doctors and nurses.
In addition to the two centres of excellence, Newcastle and GOSH, 9 additional trial sites have now joined the DMD Hub, benefitting from our funding and support.
£2.7 million has been invested to date, however one of the key challenges of funding posts in hospitals is their sustainability. The DMD Hub has implemented an innovative pump-priming model for all posts, which provides full funding in the first year and then smaller contributions as the income for the Trust increases, in line with the increased number of trials. This has allowed hospital trusts to support the roles initially funded by the DMD Hub, thereby making them sustainable.
Since 2015, the DMD Hub has made significant changes to the clinical trial environment in the UK for patients, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, and we are committed to further expanding and developing trial capacity across the country.