Europe at a Crossroads: Modern Clinical Trials, Market Pressures, and the UK’s approach in the global competitive environment

  • The traditional CRO model is no longer fit for purpose
    Transactional, vendor-based approaches create duplication, misalignment, and inefficiency, slowing trials precisely when regulatory systems are designed to move faster.
  • Integrated partnerships are the new execution engine for clinical trials
    Success in Europe now depends on deeply integrated CRO-biotech models with shared accountability, centralized oversight, and proactive regulatory strategy built in from the start.
  • Winning in 2026 requires a global, lifecycle-driven strategy
    Biotechs can combine different global solutions for early phase acceleration.

INSPIRATIONAL KEYNOTE Clinical Operational Excellence: Delivery like an Elite Athlete

  • What is the Athlete Mindset?
  • Parallels between elite sport and clinical trial delivery
  • Applying the athlete-style discipline, goal-setting, ‘pivot quickly’ mindset and performance tracking in delivering complex oncology trials
  • Translating setbacks into learnings and future strengths- The drive for continuous improvement-The perfect race!
  • Sustaining performance and energy across multi-year clinical trials- The Long-Distance Athlete

KEYNOTE: A New Chapter for UK Clinical Trials: Regulation Reform and the Rise of AI

  • The impact of the new UK clinical trial regulations coming into force in April 2026 and what they mean for sponsors, investigators, and trial delivery
  • Government priorities and progress across the UK clinical research ecosystem two years on
  • How artificial intelligence is transforming clinical trial design, feasibility, patient identification, and operational efficiency
  • Cross-sector collaboration between regulators, industry, and the NHS to strengthen the UK’s position as a leading destination for clinical research
  • Looking ahead: building a more agile, technology-enabled clinical trials environment in the UK

PANEL DISCUSSION Harnessing Real-World Data and Registries in Clinical Trials: UK & Ireland Perspectives

  • Overview of available RWD sources and disease registries across the UK and Ireland, and how they can support trial design.
  • Leveraging RWD to inform patient eligibility, site selection, and endpoint development.
  • Practical considerations for integrating registry data with trial datasets while ensuring data quality and regulatory compliance.
  • Case studies demonstrating how RWD and registries have accelerated clinical trial insights and improved patient outcomes.

SPOTLIGHT – Innovation in Rare Disease

 

  • Analysis of Real World (Audit) Data in driving drug discovery
  • Use of RWD in driving drug discovery in rare diseases
  • Leveraging therapeutics for rare disease to larger, multiple global applications