Parkinson's platform trial grows to 26 recruiting sites

Britain's largest Parkinson's treatment trial now has 26 sites open to recruitment and more than 2,200 people have registered interest. A further group of sites is being prepared as the EJS ACT-PD study enters its second year.

Instead of building a separate trial around every candidate, the UK-wide platform tests several treatments in parallel. Interim reviews can keep promising candidates moving and replace weaker ones without dismantling the shared infrastructure, potentially shortening the long route to a clear answer.

The latest progress update says new recruits are allocated among three treatment groups and two placebo groups. But registration is not the same as enrolment, and the trial has not shown that any treatment slows Parkinson's. Some sites are still opening, while Black, Arab, Asian and Mixed Heritage communities remain underrepresented.

Those limits matter because the result must work for people across the UK. Even so, 26 recruiting centres and a large volunteer response show that the platform is no longer just a design: it is active infrastructure for testing several possible treatments within one continuing study.

Sources

• Parkinson's UK — Updates from the UK's largest trial of treatments to slow Parkinson's
• EJS ACT-PD — Participating sites and recruitment status