Panthera, the UK’s largest Site Management Organisation (SMO) with a clinical research site in York, has signed two clinical trial contracts worth over £10 million each. These trials, for international pharmaceutical companies, involve recruiting patients and conducting research at Panthera's sites across the UK.

This continues a strong run for Panthera, which had a record-breaking year in 2024.

Founded in 2019, Panthera has developed a model that provides pharma and CRO clients with rapid enrolment and large patient cohorts. Over the past two years, Panthera has been the top recruiter globally in four studies, the top recruiter in the UK for six others, and achieved first patient enrolment globally or in the UK on nine studies.

Panthera works with 10 of the top 12 pharmaceutical companies and seven of the top CROs. In 2024, it became the first UK public or commercial clinical trial organisation to join Parexel’s Site Alliance Vaccine Network.

Despite a decline in NHS-registered clinical trial enrolments, independent SMOs like Panthera are expanding rapidly. With more than 50 dedicated trial sites across the UK, this sector continues to grow, providing essential services to pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organisations (CROs).

Unlike NHS figures, SMO contributions are not included in ABPI or NHS statistics, highlighting the untapped potential of these organisations in driving clinical trial success.

The UK remains a prime destination for clinical trials due to its diverse population, skilled healthcare professionals, and recent regulatory advancements by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Streamlined regulatory reviews have strengthened the UK’s competitiveness against Europe while offering cost advantages over the US.

Panthera’s expanding UK network of clinical trial sites includes locations in Glasgow, York, Sheffield, Preston, Rochdale, and Enfield. It conducts trials in vaccines, cardiovascular health, general medicine, diabetes, neurology, respiratory conditions, dermatology, and rheumatology, as well as specialist areas such as oncology, NASH, and early dementia research.