Say hello to our new logo. EDGE 3.

At the end of last year we announced that we plan to launch EDGE 3, a new version of EDGE (our Clinical Trials Management Progamme) by autumn of this year (ahhh exciting). A new version means a new look and feel of the application which also means a new logo!

Our EDGE 3 logo has already been shared in some past communications but we thought it would be a good idea to shout about it some more and get our users used to the new design and build up some excitement. Oh and because we are pretty damn proud of it. This is also a great opportunity to share with you our plans on our branding so you are kept in the loop as an important EDGE community member (that’s to those of you who are reading this and use EDGE at your organisation).

So, over the years you may have seen a few different logo variations knocking about. Most of you will know of the EDGE logo currently used on the database as well as our EDGE marketing logo used on a lot of our printed/digital media and at our well known EDGE user conference (you know you must remember that giant green spinning EDGE light in the main conference room). That’s the one! Well, to make things a little simpler and more cohesive, we are planning on using the one logo going forward from EDGE 3 launch date, so you will see the EDGE 3 logo on the system itself, our website, and on all branding and marketing materials, and of course at the future EDGE conferences (yep that means a new spinning light, banners, new merchandise, and a new outfit for our furry friend EDGEY, our very popular little hedgehog mascot).

The new EDGE logo was created by our one and only Creative Designer Gela Jenssen who designs all of our unit’s graphic materials, animations and creative pieces. Gela has created a more modern and sleek logo which not only represents the EDGE brand in a stronger, more up to date way, but also ties in nicely with the other service groups we supply here at CIRU. This was something that was very important to ensure we inline each of them together to build on the overall brand of our unit, the CIRU brand. When I asked Gela about her new logo design, she explained how it was about capturing and celebrating the unique qualities and values of the EDGE programme and EDGE team, full quote found below.

Your see we kept the EDGE green for the logo (of course) and plan to use this against a selection of on brand colours. The new logo design is more refined and is an evolution of previous logos, it can scale easily and work better in many more places. We hope you like the new logo, it is still very us, still very EDGE. We look forward to getting this rolled out across our print and digital platforms and of course on the new version of EDGE!

Keep a look out for more EDGE 3 updates and news from us coming soon.  

“For me personally as a designer, creating the EDGE 3 logo has been about capturing and celebrating the unique qualities and values of the EDGE programme and the EDGE team who is working incredibly hard to make it accessible to everyone and working well 24/7, here in the UK and globally.”

— Gela Jenssen, Creative Designer, CIRU

What will the future of clinical research look like?

Now, that is an interesting question, and if anyone tells you they know the answer then they are lying. Nobody can predict the future accurately, however we should at least try and work out the rough direction that we are heading in order to prepare for it as best as possible, knowing that we will still need to adapt over time as things change.

This reminds me of a quote from Mark Twain, ‘It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so’.

Uncertainty was echoed in the ex-governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King’s book; The end of Alchemy, where he explained that regardless of the economic models that have been designed by the smartest minds throughout the decades from Bagehot to Friedman and Keynes, it is radical uncertainty that prevents us being able to truly know the future.

So let’s start with a few of the things that we do know:

1.      Use of technology is increasing, the time we spend online has doubled over the past 10 years [i], however increase in labour productivity in the UK, which has been on an almost straight line trajectory since 1971 has started to tail off since the global financial crisis in 2008[ii].

2.      Clinical trials are costing more and taking longer to complete[iii], both of which will impact R&D investment decisions by Pharmaceutical companies, as well as concentration and investment by governments on improving the setup and delivery of research. The UK Government has already committed to increasing the share of GDP spent on R&D to 2.4% by 2027[iv]

3.      Geopolitical tensions are high; The UK in a transition period out of the EU; Countries like Greece and Italy within the EU are trapped in a debt cycle, trade tensions are high between the US and China.

4.      The departure of the UK from the EU, and therefore binding EU legislation, will mean the alignment between the two may be subject to change. The new EU Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR) will not be in force in the EU at the time that the UK exits the EU and so will not be incorporated into UK law on exit day. The Government issued an update on the CTR during the implementation period, with a clear commitment to align where possible with the CTR without delay when it does come into force in the EU, subject to usual parliamentary approvals.[v]

The outcome of these points means the UK will need to position itself competitively to continue to attract high quality researchers and research, whilst maintaining alignment with the EU in certain legislative aspects that streamline international setup and delivery. The departure from the EU may provide opportunities in the UK to create legislation and policy to increase the attractiveness of conducting research, although this will no doubt be tempered by the relationship the UK will still need to have with the EU in order to access certain services.

For the UK, and any country in fact, to improve its attractiveness as a research hub, one key aspect is efficiency. Efficiency drives down costs and increases speed, both of which are obvious attractions in relation to point 2 mentioned above. Efficiencies can rarely be achieved by individuals and instead require people to work together to solve problems at a large scale.

So despite the UK leaving the EU, and despite rising geopolitical tensions across the world, in order to solve the labour productivity issues and to reduce the cost of delivering clinical research, people will need to work together more than ever.

For years now, this is what our department has been trying to achieve subtly through the use of technology such as EDGE, but also through the social interactions that surround technology and how we work with and interact with the research community, both in the UK and beyond. By realising the potential of integrated research ecosystems, both technological and community, we can finally start to address the efficiencies and productivity gaps. EDGE is now used across 80% of NHS Trusts, broadly across Scotland and also Northern Ireland. If this reached 100%, we could finally have a competitive advantage to increase the attraction of research to the UK through a single national standardised research management platform used by all public Hospitals. This platform could be leveraged to engage sites with sponsors and offer new research opportunities to patients.

This situations is not unique to the UK though, and with other countries joining in with the EDGE programme, the benefits of working together, solving problems as a collective, sharing best practice and reducing duplication will all lead to the improvements in the delivery of clinical research that ultimately benefit the patients we serve.

[i] www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2015/time-spent-online-doubles-in-a-decade

[ii] www.tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/productivity

[iii] https://www.ohe.org/system/files/private/publications/380%20-%20R%26D%20Cost%20NME%20Mestre-Ferrandiz%202012.pdf?download=1

[iv] https://www.abpi.org.uk/media/7607/rmi-0128-0919-clinical-trials-report.pdf

[v] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-guidance-note-on-the-regulation-of-medicines-medical-devices-and-clinical-trials-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/further-guidance-note-on-the-regulation-of-medicines-medical-devices-and-clinical-trials-if-theres-no-brexit-deal

Take Research To New Heights

I wanted to start by saying thanks to everyone who attended the 2020 conference which we held at Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre earlier this month. It was a real success with close to 400 delegates through the door.

Thank you also to our wonderful speakers who brought their knowledge, expertise and humour to the event, allowing delegates to learn in a relaxed but productive way. Thanks to our new and returning sponsors and exhibitors, who provided support for the event as well as interacted with delegates during the lunchtimes.

This year we changed hosts and had Dr Kevin Fong lead the main room and introduce all of our keynote speakers. As a medical doctor and space medicine expert, Kevin was very fitting for this role with our aviation inspired theme.

We tried to keep to the new heights and airport theme as much as possible by having a bag drop area for delegates, e-ticket registration process and electronic screens which displayed the agenda in a departure board style layout - just a few things to add to the overall conference experience.

Us a team are extremely happy with the way the conference went and we believe the choice of venue (being located next to Farnborough airport) was an excellent one for our theme – TAKE RESEARCH TO NEW HEIGHTS. The venue allowed us to use multiple rooms to host user-led breakout and workshop sessions specifically on EDGE functionality and experiences. The conference also played a big part in celebrating 20 years of EDGE at the Clinical Informatics Research Unit as this was highlighted throughout the day by our hosts, as well as a special 2020 puzzle we had displayed in the networking area.

One of my highlights of the event was having Freddie, a 9-year-old boy present all by himself on how research has helped his life dramatically after having a severe peanut allergy. His presentation was a lovely reminder to why everyone is doing the job they are doing, for the patient. I also can’t forget the opening of the conference which was definitely another highlight for me. Here we had an airline safety demonstration by some members of the EDGE team, this certainly brought some laughs to the room and reminded delegates of some useful information, like remembering to wear their passports (delegate badges) at all times.

We are now thinking about what to do in 2021 and will be working on ways to improve the conference following useful feedback provided by delegates through an online survey.

Look out for future news coming from us with our 2021 plans!