The UKCRN Industry Costing Template

The UKCRN Industry Costing Template has been developed on behalf of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and addresses a specific recommendation made in the Cooksey Report, which highlighted the need for a transparent and consistent national costing system for commercial research.

The UKCRN Industry Costing Template has been implemented to speed up the initiation of industry contract trials by reducing the time required for site-by-site negotiations. It is based on the principles articulated in the NHS Finance Manual and is intended to provide transparency, greater consistency and predictability on costing for companies.

This version has been developed for use in contract trials of pharmaceutical and biotechnology agents in secondary care. Templates suitable for use in primary care studies and in studies of medical devices are being developed. This Template is not suitable for use in costing non-commercial/academic trials however this need is being addressed by UKCRN.

The UKCRN Industry Costing Template will be used for all relevant studies intended for adoption by the NIHR Clinical Research Networks (England). Although developed primarily to support these studies, the methodology is freely available to companies interested in running trials outside the Networks. UKCRN is working with the devolved nations to facilitate development of comparable systems for implementation across the UK.

The Template has been developed and piloted in a collaborative process involving the NHS and industry stakeholders. It will be reviewed and updated, as required, in the light of broader experience.

** Please note: The UKCRN Industry Costing Template will not  function  correctly on computers using MicroSoft Excel 2000 or earlier versions. Please use a later version of MS Excel to enable the correct functionality and calculations within the Template. **