A new collaboration between the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) and Pfizer aims to see UK patients among the first to benefit from a new wave of innovative medicines development. For the first time, an entire national research network has been invited to participate in Pfizer's INSPIRE (Investigator Networks, Site Partnerships and Infrastructure for Research Excellence) programme.

The NIHR CRN has agreed to form a strategic alliance with Pfizer as part of the company's INSPIRE programme. The collaboration is designed to facilitate research and innovation in the UK, and supports the Government's ambition to make the UK a world leader in life sciences. Through INSPIRE, Pfizer and NIHR CRN will share expert knowledge and experience of medicines research, to help bring more clinical trials to the UK and to help deliver the best results for patients in the NHS. In the UK today, Pfizer has 60 ongoing clinical trials across a range of therapeutic areas including oncology, cardiovascular, inflammation and neuroscience.

Dr Freda Lewis-Hall, chief medical officer, Pfizer, said, "Many once-deadly illnesses are now manageable conditions thanks to innovative medicines, but there is still so much more to be done in the fight against disease. Through pioneering collaborations such as INSPIRE, we have the means to make faster progress and achieve more for patients. We are excited to be joining with the Clinical Research Network as part of our drive to bring a new wave of medicines and other treatments to patients in the UK and around the world."

Further to this strategic alliance, Pfizer has selected the Greater Manchester Clinical Research Network to be part of the INSPIRE programme as a preferred location for clinical research. The Network will now be the 4th site in the UK to be selected by Pfizer as an INSPIRE site and means that patients in Greater Manchester could be among the first to receive innovative new treatments.

Professor Martin Gibson, clinical director of CRN, Greater Manchester, said, "We are delighted to be chosen as an INSPIRE Site and look forward to working closely with Pfizer to enhance our research portfolio and bring new and better treatments to Greater Manchester patients. To be selected as an INSPIRE Site is recognition of Greater Manchester's highly motivated staff and world-class clinical research facilities. We look forward to a productive partnership that will benefit our patients and ensure Greater Manchester continues to be at the forefront of international clinical research."