Made up of 10 hospitals and 2 local community organisations, MFT provides services to nearly 1 million people every year, in a region battling against health inequalities with over 200 languages spoken and where 6.6% of residents said their health was either ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ (compared with 5.3% in England).

A member of the Shelford Group, MFT’s research specialisms include cancer, emergency care, respiratory disease, cardiology care, musculoskeletal disorders, women’s health and pregnancy, children’s health, eye and dental health and genomics.

Based in the Manchester Innovation District, our Research and Innovation team employs over 600 members of staff and draws on a unique ecosystem comprising one of the largest clinical academic campuses in Europe, five of MFT’s 10 hospitals, two of the country’s largest universities (The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University), plus more than 200 science and technology innovation companies located in Citylabs and Manchester Science Park. This melting pot of innovation provides a unique environment to deliver cutting edge clinical research with real impact.

MFT hosts one of the largest National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) portfolios in the country, comprised of: The Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester, The Clinical Research Facility (CRF): Manchester, The Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC): Greater Manchester, The HealthTech Research Centre in Emergency and Acute Care, The Applied Research Collaboration: Greater Manchester, and The Regional Research Delivery Network (RDN): North West.

As the largest and most comprehensive NIHR CRF in the UK, The Manchester CRF has four facilities across MFT based at Manchester Royal Infirmary, North Manchester General Hospital, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and Wythenshawe Hospital, as well as two others at The Christie and Salford Royal Hospital, delivering cutting-edge research across a range of clinical areas.

FACILITIES:

These facilities are home to specialist technology including Stemsoft technology (for the labelling of apheresis with standard coding system ISBT128), four Optia Spectra apheresis collection devices and an Apheresis collection programme.

Our Stem Cell Lab is JACIE (Joint Accreditation Committee of ISCT & EMBT) certified and we have a Human Tissue Authority (HTA) license which covers procurement, testing, processing and storage of the starting material.

We are experienced in Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) clinical trials and cell processing, with established capability in cell counting, multi‑colour flow cytometry, and automated cell washing using in‑house equipment. We routinely handle apheresis material, including sterile transfers between bags and vials, and have extensive experience in the cryopreservation of cell products. We routinely run CD3 testing on leukopaks and maintain liquid nitrogen storage for Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs), supported by a continuous monitoring and alarm system on all Liquid Nitrogen (LN₂) tanks. We also perform controlled thawing using a water bath with sterile saline, with temperatures monitored both via an inbuilt thermometer and an external monitor. We also possess facilities for the safe biosafety storage of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) products.  

Pharmacy has a dedicated MFT clinical trials service team across 3 sites. The team not only deliver the clinical trials but also act as sponsor pharmacist with MFT and the University of Manchester (UoM), with the experience to act as sponsor pharmacist for first in human ATMP trials. There are two aseptic units (ASU) at MFT. One at Oxford Road Campus (ORC) and one at Wythenshawe Hospital. The ASU at ORC has a designated gene therapy negative pressure cabinet situated in a designated gene therapy air handling unit (biosafety level 2) for preparation of gene therapy medicines.  These units are in the process of being upgraded thanks for capital funding from the NIHR.  

The clinical trials pharmacy is equipped with a dedicated −80 °C freezer designated for gene therapy investigational products.