About us
PCRA and the NIHR: partners, not competitors
We're often asked whether PCRA competes with the NIHR. The short answer: no. We work closely with the NIHR, we use NIHR standard pricing, and for many studies the NIHR Research Delivery Network is exactly the right route. We exist for the studies it isn't built for.
Two different jobs
The NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) is the backbone of clinical research delivery in the NHS, and it does that job well. It supports sponsors and CROs to set up and deliver the studies on its national portfolio — clinical trials above all — with established processes, national costing, and deep relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.
But the NIHR's own eligibility rules draw a line: service evaluations, audits and quality-improvement work are not eligible for RDN support. That whole tier of evidence generation — the in-service evaluations, product assessments and real-world evidence that manufacturers and medtech rely on every day — sits below the clinical trial, and the NIHR is not built to deliver it.
PCRA is. We cover the full breadth of investigation in primary care: clinical trials, yes, but also medical device studies, real-world evidence, service evaluations, and regulatory support work — delivered through a different kind of network: nearly 180 GP practices chosen and matched study by study.
We price clinical trials to NIHR standards, using the same interactive Costing Tool (iCT) methodology that underpins the National Contract Value Review — the difference is what we deliver and how fast, not what we charge.
When the NIHR route is the right choice
We'll tell you honestly when it is. The NIHR Research Delivery Network is a strong fit when:
- You have an established relationship. Pharma sponsors who already work with the NIHR, know its processes, and have delivery relationships in place should use them.
- Your lead time is long. If your study has a year or more of runway before first patient, the NIHR's set-up pathways have the time they need to work.
- An experienced CRO is running delivery on a long timeline. A seasoned CRO with an NIHR-routed study and generous lead times doesn't need us — that machine works.
When PCRA is the right choice
Built for the studies that can't wait, or can't compromise on site fit:
- The current set-up isn't working. We rescue studies — where recruitment has stalled, sites have underdelivered, or timelines have slipped, we re-site and restart quickly.
- Timelines are short. We run as a commercial organisation, to commercial timelines. When you don't have months of lead time, we're built to move immediately.
- You're running a medical device study. Device trials live or die on finding the right site — the right patient population, the right clinical setting, the right team. Site matching is the heart of what we do.
- Your study needs a practice's full attention. Many sponsors — especially in medtech — need a practice with no competing studies, focused entirely on their trial, working closely with the team and often training staff on new technologies. Our network is built for exactly that.
A network built for focus
Through its Primary Care Commercial Research Delivery Centres programme, the NIHR funds 14 large primary care organisations to run high volumes of commercial trials. Our practices are predominantly the next tier down: highly competent, research-keen GP practices building their research portfolios — and many, though not all, work on one study at a time. That's not a compromise; it's the point. If your study needs a practice's full attention, it won't be queuing behind five others.
Part of being a PCRA member is working together to grow as research practices — organically, study by study.
Working together
Many of our sponsors use both routes — the NIHR for their portfolio pharma trials, PCRA where speed, site fit, or dedicated focus matter most. We're glad to talk through which route fits your study, even if the answer is “not us.”
PCRA's founder serves as an NIHR Primary Care Research Champion.