Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (Leeds CTRU)

What Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (Leeds CTRU) does

Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (Leeds CTRU) is an academic clinical trials research unit within the Leeds Institute of Clinical Trials Research at the University of Leeds' School of Medicine, founded in 1992 and employing 51 staff. It operates as a UKCRC Registered Clinical Trials Unit, designing and conducting randomised controlled trials and complex intervention research across multiple therapeutic areas including cancer (rectal, anal, bowel, liver), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, and paediatric intensive care. The unit has produced landmark trial results that have altered international standards of care, including radiotherapy regimens that cure nine in ten anal cancer patients and halve local recurrence in rectal cancer, a UK-first robotic-assisted electrochemotherapy procedure that reduced a liver tumour by approximately 80% in the first treated patient, and a cardiovascular risk prediction blood test identifying 20% of at-risk individuals for heart attack within a decade.

Leeds CTRU's underlying technology base comprises clinical trials methodology, complex interventions research, and health services research infrastructure rather than a commercial software platform; proprietary features in the source data include the clinical trials research infrastructure, the cardiovascular risk prediction blood test analysing 12 proteins, and the electrochemotherapy-with-robotic-guidance cancer treatment. Notable technical components include access to UK Biobank data for approximately 22,000 participants, deep integration with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for clinical delivery, and collaboration with the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Leeds.

The unit's business model is non-commercial grant funding rather than fee-for-service revenue. Income derives from competitive research grants awarded by UK public and charitable funders (NIHR, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Wellcome Trust, AHRC), supplemented by clinical academic training programmes and institutional funding through the University of Leeds. Go-to-market is academic: projects are acquired through research collaborations, NHS partnerships, and competitive funding mechanisms, with dissemination via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and influence on international clinical guidelines. Customers in the conventional sense are the funding bodies and NHS implementation partners, rather than paying commercial accounts.

Name

Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (Leeds CTRU)

Legal name

University of Leeds

Website

https://medicinehealth.leeds.ac.uk

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (Leeds CTRU) is a UKCRC-registered academic clinical trials unit within the University of Leeds, designing and conducting randomised controlled trials across cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, and complex interventions for the NHS and UK research funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Site Data Management Support (EDC/Source/SDV Readiness) (HLAGACAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Point-of-Care & Decentralized Trial Testing Services (HLAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Clinical trials research
• Randomized controlled trials
• Clinical trial design
• Academic medical research
• Health services research

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Grant Funding: Primary revenue from competitive research grants awarded by NIHR, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and other research councils. Funding supports specific research projects and infrastructure.
2. Clinical Academic Training: Income from training clinicians and researchers through clinical academic training programmes, PhD programmes, and professional development courses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Leeds CTRU is an academic clinical trials research unit within the University of Leeds that designs, conducts, and analyses randomized controlled trials and complex interventions research across multiple therapeutic areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mental health. It operates as a UKCRC Registered Clinical Trials Unit and works in close partnership with NHS trusts to translate research findings into clinical practice. The unit also provides clinical academic training programmes for clinicians and researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Trials Research Services
• Clinical Academic Training Programmes

Quantifiable outcome

• Blood test can identify 20% of people with unhealthy fat who will experience heart attack within a decade
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Key NHS partnership for clinical research and treatment delivery. Currently the only UK site offering electrochemotherapy as part of RESPECT trial
• York St John UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Partnership in Creative Writing Together project - a three-year research project funded by AHRC (£1.02m) to support young people's mental health through creative writing. Project runs May 2026 to April 2029.
• Goldsmiths, University of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Partnership in Creative Writing Together project alongside York St John University and University of Leeds, focusing on developing Reflective Functioning through collaborative creative writing
• University of BirminghamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Collaborative development of eFalls prediction model using routinely available primary care electronic health record data

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ICON plc: Global commercial CRO offering trial design, site management and data services across all therapeutic areas; relevant incumbent benchmark for the outsourced trial-services market in which Leeds CTRU operates.

Direct peers

• MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL: UKCRC-registered academic CTU running large-scale randomised trials across cancer, infectious disease and complex interventions; directly comparable in mission, funder base (MRC/NIHR) and operating model.
• Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU): University of Oxford CTU conducting randomised trials in surgery, musculoskeletal disease and complex interventions; same UKCRC CTU status and similar academic, grant-funded model.
• Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit: Newcastle University's UKCRC-registered CTU running trials across ageing, neurodegenerative disease and oncology; structurally similar academic unit serving NHS partners in the North of England.
• Bristol Randomised Trials Collaboration: University of Bristol's UKCRC-registered collaboration focused on trials in primary care, mental health and public health; close methodological peer for Leeds' complex-interventions work.
• King's Clinical Trials Unit: King's College London's CTU active in mental health, cardiovascular and trials methodology; competing UKCRC CTU with overlapping therapeutic-area focus and London-based patient catchment.
• Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit: University of Birmingham CTU and an existing Leeds partner on the eFalls model; UKCRC-registered and methodologically aligned, competing for similar primary-care and complex-intervention trials.
• Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit: University of Cambridge's UKCRC-registered CTU delivering trials across oncology, cardiovascular and rare diseases; structurally analogous academic unit competing for the same UK funding pool.
• Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit: University of Edinburgh CTU providing trial design, data management and methodology across multiple therapeutic areas; shares the UKCRC academic-CTU positioning and NIHR funding dependence.
• Manchester Clinical Trials Unit: University of Manchester CTU running trials in cancer, cardiovascular and mental health with similar size and UKCRC registration; comparable peer in trial methodology and funder mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/universityofleeds.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/universityofleeds
• Facebookfacebook.com/universityofleeds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leeds-clinical-trials-research-unit-leeds-ctru
• Instagraminstagram.com/universityofleeds

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (Leeds CTRU)