Advancing Research Pharmacy – a blog by Dr Beatriz Duran, Head of Pharmacy Clinical Trials Service, MFT

Dr Beatriz Duran, Head of Pharmacy Clinical Trials Service and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), is the first pharmacist in the UK to achieve Consultant Pharmacist Accreditation in Clinical Trials and ATMPs, from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). 

 The RPS Consultant Pharmacist Accreditation was awarded following the submission of Dr Duran’s portfolio and recognises sustained contributions to advancing practice and improving patient care through leadership, innovation and collaboration.

To mark this achievement Dr Duran, who is also Lead Sponsor Pharmacist at The University of Manchester (UoM), shares what this recognition means to her and its importance for research and future patient benefit. 

Why research matters to me

I am proud to work in research because it means being part of a system that creates future treatments and improves patient outcomes. 

Every new medicine, therapy or treatment pathway begins with carefully designed studies that test whether innovations are safe and effective. Pharmacy plays a critical role in enabling those studies, ensuring investigational medicines are handled safely and that regulatory standards are maintained. Recent examples include our support to deliver the groundbreaking stem cell replacement therapy for Hunter syndrome, at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and the first patient in the UK to be treated on the NHS with an innovative personalised therapy, for an aggressive blood cancer, at Manchester Royal Infirmary.  

Collective recognition 

Achieving Consultant Accreditation from the RPS in Clinical Trials and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) recognises the growing role that research-active pharmacy services play in enabling patients to access pioneering treatments through clinical trials. 

While this is a personal milestone, I see it primarily as recognition of the collective work taking place within research pharmacy at MFT and across the wider north west research ecosystem.   

We are delivering more than 25 ATMP clinical trials at MFT, in different  specialities, including rare conditions in paediatrics, neurology, haematology, oncology and metabolic diseases.  

This RPS recognition reflects the strength of our clinical trials governance, the expertise of our pharmacy teams, and the collaborative approach we have taken with research partners locally, regionally and nationally. 

Why being the first in this area matters 

Being the first pharmacist recognised in this area demonstrates that clinical trials pharmacy has developed into a highly specialised field of practice. It also helps raise the profile of pharmacy as a key enabler of research delivery across the NHS and opens career pathways for clinical trials pharmacists at a national level. 

Looking ahead 

As trials become increasingly sophisticated – particularly with gene therapies, cell therapies and other advanced treatments – the need for specialist pharmacy leadership is growing. 

Currently, through the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre (ATTC) Network, I am also involved in developing national training resources and competency frameworks for pharmacy professionals working with advanced therapies, helping prepare the workforce needed to support the next generation of innovative treatments.  

Whilst I am proud of where we are and what we have achieved, my focus going forward will be on expanding research capacity, strengthening national collaboration, supporting workforce development, and enabling more patients to access innovative treatments through clinical studies. 

If this recognition helps inspire more pharmacists to become involved in research, then for me, that would be one of the most rewarding outcomes.