Important changes to the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL




From April 2026, the MRC Clinical Trials Unit has become the UCL Innovative Clinical Trials Unit.

The MRC Clinical Trials Unit has received underpinning funding from the MRC since 1998. This has allowed the Unit to carry out innovative and challenging trials, meta-analyses and methodology research that have had a global impact. This funding ended in March 2026, due to changes in the MRC's funding approach. Preparing for this funding cut has been challenging. However, we will remain one of the largest clinical trials units in the UK and will maintain our wide portfolio of activity.

The MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL has always been defined by its dedication to impactful research, innovation, its culture of collaboration and mentorship, and its commitment to improving global health. The Innovative Clinical Trials Unit is committed to continuing to fulfil the mission of smarter studies and global impact, leading to better health. We will continue to successfully deliver new and ongoing studies, collaborating with partners around the world. The Innovative Clinical Trials Unit will be led by Professor Angela Meade, an experienced clinical trialist recognised for her strategic leadership and commitment to advancing collaborative research.

Professor Mahesh (Max) Parmar, the current Director of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, will remain Director of the Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology at UCL. Also, he is the Director of the new MRC funded Centre of Research Excellence in Clinical Trial Innovation, which opened in February 2026, supported by Professors James Carpenter, Ruth Langley and Ian White as Deputy Directors. The Innovative Clinical Trials Unit will capitalise on the existing close links and common staff with the Centre of Research Excellence in Clinical Trial Innovation to drive forward its mission.

The Innovative Clinical Trials Unit will remain part of the Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology at UCL. Sponsorship of Unit studies will remain unchanged. 

SHINE impact on clinical practice-Questionnaire 

The UCL Innovative Clinical Trials Unit (InCTU, formerly the MRC CTU at UCL) invites you to take part in a short, anonymous questionnaire on the uptake of a shorter treatment regimen for non-severe TB in children.  

More than one million children develop TB each year, with around two thirds affected by non-severe disease. Treatment shortening is a key priority within the End TB Strategy. In 2022, the SHINE trial showed that a four-month regimen is as effective as the standard six-month regimen for children with non-severe TB, leading to updated WHO recommendations. 

The questionnaire aims to: 

  • Assess how widely the four-month regimen has been adopted worldwide 
  • Understand current clinical practice across different settings 
  • Identify barriers to implementing the shorter regimen 

The findings will help to identify gaps and inform efforts to support the integration of the four-month regimen into guidelines globally, as well as potentially inform a future implementation study.  

Results will be used for research purposes, and will be reported in an anonymised, aggregated form, and may be used for scientific publications.  

You can access the questionnaire here: https://forms.office.com/e/WMuWkzCuMx?origin=lprLink 

The questionnaire should take about ten minutes to complete and will remain open until the 1st of August 2026.  

Please share this invitation with colleagues who look after children with TB. We would greatly appreciate your contribution!  

Thank you very much for your time and support.
The Communications and SHINE teams at the InCTU