'Patients in Bradford have been first in the world to access new health treatments'
“Sometimes our patients here are the first in the world to get access to things,” says Jennifer Syson, a research matron, referring to the city of Bradford.
The Bradford Institute for Health Research was established in the area in 2007 and more than 500 research projects now take place through the centre each year.
Professor Dinesh Saralaya, Director for The NIHR Bradford and West Yorkshire Commercial Research Delivery Centre and Respiratory Physician, is keen to highlight two in particular, where Bradford has been at the very forefront of pioneering work.
In 2024, a team at the BIHR successfully recruited the first participants in Europe for two clinical trials investigating innovative potential treatments for respiratory conditions.
One, the AJAX study, was devised to explore safety and efficacy of a potential treatment for adults with uncontrolled asthma. The other, MIRANDA, was set up to explore investigational treatment for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Professor Saralaya said at the time: “Both are great examples of how we are working closely with the life sciences industry to bring new treatments in asthma and COPD to patients. This collaboration allows people living with respiratory conditions in and around Bradford early access to cutting-edge treatments.”
Also in 2024, the BIHR announced a global first in the Immedica phase 3 paediatric study, exploring the use of a drug for arginase 1 deficiency, a rare inherited disease affecting growth, learning and health.
Pegzilarginase had not previously been studied in patients with ARG1-D under the age of two.
The BIHR, part of the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said at the time: “Our patient recruited into the trial is receiving weekly treatment through the study at St Luke’s hospital and hopefully it will have a substantial impact on the course of their disease. This in turn could then allow other patients below two years to be treated with the drug.”
The BIHR brings together academic minds from the region’s universities and frontline medical expertise from the area’s healthcare providers under one roof.