Clinical Trials Accelerator Platform

Through CTAP, we support clinical trials in the UK by:

• creating a network of CTAP centres to run CF clinical trials 
• funding a national team of CF trial coordinators 
• supporting pharmaceutical companies and universities to run trials in the UK
• involving people with CF in the planning and design of clinical trials
• creating an online hub of information about trials, why they happen and how to take part.

Our aim is to make it possible for a wide variety of CF clinical trials to open in the UK, to help more people with CF to take part in trials and through this, speed up the development of new treatments. 

CTAP is changing the picture of clinical trials in the UK. Before we created CTAP, the UK lacked dedicated infrastructure and resources to support a large number and variety of CF clinical trials. This limited the number of trials that could run in the UK and meant a lot of people with CF were missing out on opportunities to take part in trials. Through CTAP, we’ve increased the number and variety of clinical trial opportunities in the UK and improved access to the newest treatments for people living with CF.

Since we launched CTAP, we have supported more than 70 studies. We’ve supported more than 6,000 study screenings and 4,000 enrolments.

The time between a study opening and recruiting their first patient has decreased by 11 weeks (70%) on average, increasing the speed at which new studies can open.

Find out more about our achievements over the last 12 months (March 2023–February 2024) and our overall impact since CTAP began by reading our 2024 impact report. 

Read the 2024 CTAP impact report

CTAP brings together and supports CF centres around the UK to deliver clinical trials. Centres that are part of the CTAP network are funded with a dedicated CF trials coordinator to support trial set-up and delivery. 

• 25 CF centres are part of the CTAP network 
• 25 trial coordinators are funded by CTAP
• Approximately 90% of the UK CF population (around 9,600 people) have access to trials where their receive their clinical care

This has resulted in significantly faster trial set-up times, as well as increased participant screening and enrolment rates at CTAP centres. 

See our list of CTAP centres

We encourage clinical trial sponsors (people who fund and run trials) to consider opening their trials in the UK. Our wide-ranging capabilities to support CF research means that the UK is in a unique position to be able to support sponsors with all aspects of trial design and planning. 

For example, we help sponsors to involve people with CF in trial design and funding applications. We provide expertise and data from the UK CF Registry to help sponsors find the best CF centres to run a trial. Our CTAP network have the capabilities and resources to deliver a wide range of trials and we support recruitment by sharing it on our Trials Tracker and social media.

Find out how we support trial sponsors

Our Involvement Group is made up of more than 300 people with CF and their families. The network helps make sure people with CF are involved in every stage of clinical trial design to make sure that the needs and preferences of people with CF are taken into account. This helps to reduce barriers to taking part and ensure a trial is designed in a way that fits around people’s daily lives.

Find out more about our Involvement Group

We created the Clinical Trials Hub to provide simple information about what clinical trials are, the latest developments in trials and what to expect if considering taking part in a trial. 

This includes our Trials Tracker, our database of CF clinical trials currently recruiting in the UK, where people can find opportunities to take part in trials.

Cystic Fibrosis Trust also supports a wide range of research outside of clinical trials. Separate to the work of CTAP, we fund and support innovative research projects to help ensure that every person with CF in the UK can live a life unlimited.

Find out how we support CF research