Patients at Bronglais hospital in Aberystwyth have become the first in the UK to be recruited into two international clinical trials investigating potential new treatment options for people living with Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

The trials, funded by Roche and led by Dr Mark Narain, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Bronglais Hospital, aim to establish whether new investigatory treatments can improve symptoms and quality of life for people living with these long-term conditions that affect more than 26,000 people in Wales.

Trial participants receive either the trial drug or a placebo over a 10-week period.

Ronda Loosley, Research Team Lead at Bronglais Hospital, said: "We're proud to have been the first site in the UK to recruit participants into both of these important trials.

"These conditions require long-term daily management and can cause painful flare-ups, so research plays an important role in developing potential new treatment options.

“Many of our patients live in rural areas, so being able to take part in these studies closer to home gives them the opportunity to contribute to research that could help shape future care."

Targeted investment from Health and Care Research Wales, including funding through the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth, has helped strengthen research capability at Bronglais Hospital, helping the site deliver regulated studies and meet the Good Clinical Practice standards required for commercial clinical trials.

Gareth Hopkin, Head of Commercial Research Delivery Wales at Health and Care Research Wales, said: “Commercial research plays a key role in the development of new and more effective treatment options for people with Crohn’s and Colitis.

“These early recruitment milestones at Bronglais Hospital highlight the important contribution that hospitals across Wales can make to large international studies.

“It also means patients in Hywel Dda can receive early access to these promising new treatment options.”