A £1.5m research funding investment is set to enhance diagnostic capability and clinical trials infrastructure at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust.
The investment, awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, will fund state-of-the-art equipment and facilities designed to improve patient outcomes and accelerate access to innovative therapies.
Central to the programme is the development of a new aseptic pharmacy unit for clinical trials.
The facility will enable the preparation of time-sensitive medicines, increasing the number of patients able to participate in trials and improving the delivery of advanced treatments.
Alongside this, the trust will introduce a Nanopore genetic sequencing platform, enabling clinicians to analyse longer strands of DNA.
“This funding will allow our teams to enhance current genetic testing (whole genome sequencing) by reading longer sections of the DNA that makes up the genome, moving from so-called short to long-read technologies,” said Professor Jeremy Kirk, Director of Research and Development at the Trust.
This shift from short-read to long-read sequencing is expected to significantly enhance the detection of complex genetic variants, supporting faster and more accurate diagnosis of rare and infectious diseases.
The combined investment is expected to strengthen the trust’s role in research and innovation, particularly in genetics, where it already holds national recognition.
How the investment will boost clinical trials
By expanding genomic testing capacity and improving pharmacy infrastructure, the funding will also support the delivery of a greater number of commercial and non-commercial clinical trials.
The initiative also aligns with wider regional research activity, including the Central and North West Midlands Commercial Research Delivery Centre, which connects hospitals, community services and primary care sites with commercial partners to accelerate trial set-up and delivery.
By combining advanced genomic technologies with upgraded clinical trial infrastructure, the investment is expected to support the development of next-generation treatments, including cell and gene therapies, while reinforcing the trust’s position as a key research hub within the NHS.