A Night To Remember In The History Of ACT
The evening of the 1st of October marked a special occasion in the history of Accelerating Clinical Trials Ltd (ACT). One of our investor partners, Anthony Nolan, very generously hosted a launch event in London. This memorable evening brought together leading figures from across the UK life sciences sector including Lord O’ Shaughnessy and George Freeman MP, pharmaceutical company executives, representative from our other funders, Cure Leukaemia, Blood Cancer UK, NHS Blood and Transplant, our Board members, and patient representatives — to celebrate the progress and ambition of ACT.
Our deepest thanks go to our foundational supporters Cure Leukaemia, Anthony Nolan, and NHSBT – the three organisations whose belief in our mission has enabled ACT to take shape, grow, and promote a bold new model for accelerating clinical trials. Their investment, belief, and active involvement have laid the groundwork for everything we have achieved so far and aspire to in the future.
During the evening, powerful endorsements came from Lord O’Shaughnessy and George Freeman MP, both of whom gave compelling speeches highlighting the potential of ACT to serve as a model not only within blood cancer research, but across the wider clinical research landscape. Lord O’Shaughnessy published his Review of Commercial Clinical Trials in the United Kingdom in May 2023, which identified ACT as a transformative model and a key component of the UK’s future trials infrastructure.
The evening also included a deeply moving speech by Natalie Hill, whose husband Geoff, an ITV news editor, died at the age of 52 from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia while waiting to join a cell therapy trial. Natalie’s words brought into sharp focus the urgent need for faster access to trials.
While our roots are in blood cancer and stem cell transplantation, ACT’s approach is scalable, We are building a pioneering model – streamlined, collaborative, and built for speed. It is a model that we hope will inspire and inform clinical research across many therapeutic areas.
The launch event was not only celebration of how far we’ve come, but also a powerful reminder of the impact we strive to make and a testament to the work of the entire ACT team.