Greater Manchester Commercial Research Delivery Centre announces first studies

Three new studies aiming to improve the effectiveness of vaccinations for severe acute respiratory infections have launched in Manchester thanks to support from The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Greater Manchester Commercial Research Delivery Centre (GM CRDC).

The three studies are the first to be delivered through the GM CRDC, one of 21 CRDCs across the UK, and aim to recruit patients who have been hospitalised with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI).

The studies will enable researchers to evaluate how COVID-19 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccines perform outside of clinical trials and across diverse populations. These studies will provide essential real-world evidence into the degree of protection vaccines offer against serious respiratory illness, hospitalisation, and healthcare burden.

Dr Shazaad Ahmad, a Consultant Virologist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the Principal Investigator for the studies in Greater Manchester, said: “Respiratory viral infection, such as influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, cause severe illness and death particularly amongst the very young, the elderly and those who have underlying medical conditions. As most of these infections occur in the winter, this places significant strain on health services.

“Vaccination remains one of the most effective interventions for preventing severe outcomes, reducing hospital admissions, and protecting the most vulnerable. These real-world evaluations will help ensure that vaccination programmes deliver maximum benefit to the populations they are designed to protect”.

Studies like this are vital to make improvements to these lifesaving vaccines and it is a privilege for Greater Manchester to play a role in this work alongside leading institutions across Europe.

CRDCs were established in April 2025 to enhance the speed and efficiency of commercial clinical research delivery in the UK, boosting the global competitiveness of the UK life sciences sector and contributing to the health and wealth of the nation.

Hosted by MFT, the GM CRDC builds on and utilises the existing size, strength, experience, and expertise of Greater Manchester’s world-class research and innovation ecosystem, to position Manchester as a regional hub for pioneering clinical trials.

The benefits of utilising the CRDC to quickly and efficiently establish commercial clinical trials was demonstrated with the three studies being set up just 29 days after the GM CRDC was invited to take part.

Dr Claire Cole, Deputy Managing Director for Research and Innovation (Research) at MFT, and the Director of NIHR GM CRDC, said:

This is a fantastic milestone for the GM CRDC and demonstrates our ability to facilitate the rapid establishment of cutting-edge clinical trials in Greater Manchester.

“Greater Manchester is home to a large and diverse community, and we are working hard to increase access to innovative research studies for everybody to help tackle the health inequalities that exist in our region.

“Studies like this strengthen our commercial partnerships bringing jobs and investment as well as growing Greater Manchester’s status as a clinical research powerhouse.”

The three studies are aiming to recruit 300 participants who have been hospitalised with severe acute respiratory infections during the winter season 2024-2025 to help study the effectiveness of vaccines for conditions including severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The plan is then to continue a prospective recruitment of patients during winter season 2025-2026 with a new study target to be agreed.

The studies are part of id.DRIVE, an open public-private partnership to facilitate the conduct of observational studies on infectious diseases, related vaccines, preventive measures, therapeutics and diagnostics at hospital sites across the UK and Europe.