NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF)

What NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) does

NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is a publicly funded NHS clinical research infrastructure hosted by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and operating across six purpose-built facilities embedded within Greater Manchester teaching hospitals: The Christie (specialist oncology), Manchester Royal Infirmary (adult and paediatric), Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (paediatric), Wythenshawe Hospital (respiratory and breast cancer), Salford Royal (metabolic, neurology, gene therapy), and North Manchester General Hospital (respiratory). Founded in 2017, it is the largest and most comprehensive of the 28 NIHR Clinical Research Facilities in England and supports early phase and experimental medicine trials across all major clinical specialties and patient age groups.

The facility's core technology includes specialist research equipment such as the Elekta Unity MR-Linac (the first machine in the world to combine high-field MR imaging with a linear accelerator), a JACIE-accredited apheresis service and cell storage capability for ATMP and CAR-T trials, a Human Performance Laboratory with Qualisys 3D motion analysis, COSMED Quark CPET, and BOD POD body composition systems, advanced cardiac and ventilation MRI, and dedicated bronchoscopy and minor procedure suites. Specialist multidisciplinary teams of registered Clinical Research Nurses, principal investigators, and laboratory support staff operate 24/7 across sites.

Revenue is predominantly government grant-driven through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, with a £15.5 million award covering 2022-2027 (a 24% uplift on the prior cycle) supplemented by individually negotiated industry-sponsored trial contracts with pharmaceutical and biotech companies including Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Nurix Therapeutics, Greywolf Therapeutics, Freeline Therapeutics, and Dyne Therapeutics, plus co-funding from the University of Manchester, LifeArc, MRC, and UKRI. Customer segments fall into three groups: NHS patients across Greater Manchester (primary), academic researchers and clinical investigators, and life sciences industry sponsors. The go-to-market is referral-driven through NHS clinical pathways, the public involvement programme Vocal, and the wider NIHR national infrastructure, with no commercial pricing model.

Name

NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF)

Legal name

NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility

Website

https://manchestercrf.nihr.ac.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Publicly funded NHS clinical research infrastructure operating six purpose-built facilities across Greater Manchester teaching hospitals, delivering early phase and experimental medicine trials for NHS patients, academic researchers, and life sciences industry sponsors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Facility Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV) (HLAGAAAA)

Keywords

• Early phase clinical trials
• Experimental medicine research
• Clinical research facility
• Oncology clinical research
• Gene therapy trials

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. NIHR Government Funding: NIHR Manchester CRF is primarily funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It received a £15.5 million award in 2022 (24% uplift on 2017-2022 funding) to fund operations from 2022 to 2027. This covers facility operations, staff, and delivery of early phase clinical research. Nationally, NIHR announced nearly £161 million to fund 28 NIHR CRFs across England in 2022.
2. Life Sciences Industry Partnerships: The CRF supports delivery of clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical and biotech companies including Vertex, Freeline Therapeutics, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Nurix Therapeutics, Greywolf Therapeutics, and others. These are commercial/industry-sponsored trials that provide funding for study delivery.
3. Charitable and Research Council Funding: The CRF benefits from additional funding from organisations including The University of Manchester, LifeArc, MRC, UKRI, and NHS trusts for specific studies and infrastructure upgrades.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NIHR Manchester CRF provides purpose-built clinical research facilities and specialist infrastructure for delivering early phase and experimental medicine trials across six NHS teaching hospital sites in Greater Manchester. It offers clinical research nursing, specialist equipment (MR-Linac, 3T MRI, apheresis, Human Performance Laboratory), and regulatory-grade trial delivery services to academic researchers, NHS clinicians, and life sciences industry sponsors. The facility supports first-in-human studies, gene therapy, CAR-T therapy, immunotherapy, vaccine trials, and ATMP delivery.

Product overview

NIHR Manchester CRF is a clinical research infrastructure comprising six dedicated research facilities across Greater Manchester NHS teaching hospitals. The portfolio includes facilities at The Christie (specialist oncology including CAR-T, MR-Linac and Proton Beam Therapy), Manchester Royal Infirmary (adult/paediatric Phase I-II studies with Human Performance Laboratory and MRI), Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (specialist paediatric research with sensory facilities), Wythenshawe Hospital (respiratory medicine and breast cancer with advanced imaging), North Manchester General Hospital (early phase trials for underserved communities), and Salford Royal Hospital (gene therapy and neurology). Together, these facilities provide purpose-built spaces, qualified clinical research nurses, specialist equipment, and regulatory-quality environments for delivering early phase and experimental medicine research across all patient ages and clinical specialties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vocal: Patient and public involvement, engagement and participation initiative addressing health inequalities in Greater Manchester
• NIHR BioResource Centre Manchester

Products and services

• Manchester CRF at The Christie Hospital
• Manchester CRF at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI)
• Manchester CRF at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (RMCH)
• Manchester CRF at Wythenshawe Hospital
• Manchester CRF at North Manchester General Hospital
• Manchester CRF at Salford Royal Hospital
• Human Performance Laboratory
• MRI Scanner Facilities
• Minor Procedures Suite
• Digital Patient Design Lab

Quantifiable outcome

• Kaftrio CF triple therapy (developed at Manchester CRF) is effective in 90% of CF patients with an average improvement in lung function of over 20%
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Greywolf TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Greywolf Therapeutics (Oxford-based) developed GRWD5769, a novel immunotherapy drug targeting ERAP1. The EMITT-1 Phase 1/2 trial combining GRWD5769 with cemiplimab was delivered at The Christie and showed efficacy across six different hard-to-treat cancers.
• ModernacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Moderna is the sponsor of an early phase mRNA pandemic influenza vaccine study at the NIHR Manchester CRF at Salford Royal Hospital, recruiting approximately 40 participants. The study is assessing safety and immune responses to investigational pandemic influenza vaccines.
• AstraZenecacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024AstraZeneca is the study sponsor of the PETRA clinical trial at The Christie, investigating PARP inhibitor AZD5305 in combination with Trastuzumab Deruxtecan for advanced breast cancer and other solid tumours.
• University College London (UCL) / UCL Cancer Trials CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024UCL led and sponsored the NEOPRISM-CRC Phase II clinical trial assessing pembrolizumab for MMR deficient/MSI-High bowel cancer. The Christie was one of five UK recruiting sites. Results showed over 50% of patients had no signs of cancer after surgery vs 4% with standard treatment.
• Freeline Therapeutics LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 October 2023Freeline Therapeutics is the study sponsor of the GALILEO-1 trial evaluating FLT201, an investigational AAV gene therapy for Gaucher disease. The NIHR Manchester CRF at Salford Royal Hospital treated the first UK patient with this pioneering gene therapy (October 2023), only the third person in the world to receive it. Freeline reported positive initial safety, tolerability and enzyme activity data from the first two patients.
• Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres (ATTC) NetworksupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The ATTC Network provided advice and preparatory support for the gene therapy trial at Salford Royal, helping establish the governance processes and regulatory pathway for advanced therapy trials.
• Innovate Manchester Advanced Therapy Centre Hub (iMATCH)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023iMATCH is a Manchester-based consortium focused on improving access to advanced therapies. Provided preparatory support for the gene therapy trial for Gaucher disease at Salford Royal Hospital.
• Dyne TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Dyne Therapeutics developed DYNE-101 for myotonic dystrophy type 1. The Great Manchester Muscle Disease Unit at Salford Royal was one of three UK sites selected for this Phase 1/2 trial. The CRF recruited the first patient in Europe to this study.
• The Christie NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Host partner providing facilities for Manchester CRF at The Christie, the largest single-site comprehensive cancer centre in Europe. The CRF at The Christie delivers early phase oncology trials including complex immunotherapy, CAR-T therapy, and access to the MR-Linac and Proton Beam Therapy.
• Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Host partner providing facilities at Salford Royal Hospital (neurology, musculoskeletal, metabolic medicine, gene therapy, vaccine research) and North Manchester General Hospital (respiratory research). The partnership expanded in 2022 with the £15.5 million funding award.
• Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022MFT is the host trust for NIHR Manchester CRF. Facilities at Manchester Royal Infirmary (adult/paediatric research), Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (paediatric research), and Wythenshawe Hospital (respiratory/breast cancer) are operated by MFT. MFT was the second highest recruiter nationally to PHOSP-COVID.
• NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The CRF and BRC collaborate closely on research across multiple themes including respiratory medicine, cancer, and genetics. Both are part of the NIHR Manchester infrastructure, with shared staff, facilities, and research programmes. The BRC funds studies including RADicA and supports the Cancer & Us community programme.
• Nurix TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Nurix Therapeutics is the study sponsor of the NX-5948 clinical trial for B-cell lymphoma and CLL at The Christie. This early phase (Phase 1) trial is recruiting patients at several hospitals in the UK and abroad. Adele Adams achieved complete remission on this trial.
• Vertex PharmaceuticalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Vertex Pharmaceuticals sponsored the clinical trials for CFTR modulator therapies including Kaftrio (triple combination therapy) at Manchester CRF. The CRF hosted pivotal Phase 2 and 3 trials that led to Kaftrio's licensing in 2020. Manchester was the lead and highest recruiting UK centre for these trials.
• Clinical Research Network Greater Manchester (CRN GM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CRF partners with CRN Greater Manchester as part of the NIHR infrastructure to develop a mutually beneficial network ensuring health research awareness and routes to research participation reach local residents, particularly in areas of low participation.
• Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC GM)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ARC GM to develop collaborative approaches to community-based research, supporting the network to address health inequalities and improve research access in underserved areas of Greater Manchester.
• VocalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVocal is a public involvement and engagement partnership that co-creates research with communities across Manchester. It has co-created programmes including Cancer & Us: Community Conversations with Manchester CRF and Manchester BRC, addressing health inequalities and raising awareness of research in minoritised communities.
• Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOSH provided the specialist Cell and Gene Therapy Facility for modification of stem cells for the Hunter syndrome gene therapy trial. GOSH's manufacturing facility at The Zayed Centre for Research produced the gene-modified cell product for all five patients in the study.
• Edinburgh Cancer Centre / NHS LothiansupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Stefan Symeonides at Edinburgh Cancer Centre is the UK Chief Investigator for the EMITT-1 trial. The Edinburgh site was one of four countries and six UK sites in the global GRWD5769 trial.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ManchesterCRF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nihr-manchester-clinical-research-facility-crf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF)