Blood Cancer UK: accelerating clinical trial outcomes through partnership with BIA

In this blog, Dr Rubina Ahmed, Director of Research, Policy and Services at Blood Cancer UK, reflects on what the partnership with BIA has meant for the charity and the achievements of 2025. Over the past 12 months, the generosity, enthusiasm and support of the BIA community have helped raise vital funds, forge new connections in life sciences and amplify the voices of people affected by blood cancer across the UK.

Our partnership with the BIA came at a very exciting time for Blood Cancer UK. We had just launched our award-winning Blood Cancer Action Plan and were beginning to deliver on its recommendations, particularly those focused on improving access to clinical trials for all people affected by blood cancer, especially those from underrepresented groups.

Blood cancer, which includes leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, is the UK’s fifth most common cancer and third biggest cancer killer. It’s the most common cancer in children and the incidence of some types of blood cancer is almost three times higher in people of certain ethnic minorities. With over 250,000 people currently living with the disease in the UK, the partnership aimed to raise the profile of blood cancers and spotlight the importance of clinical trials for people with blood cancer to access life-saving treatments. We also aimed to raise funds for our Clinical Trials Support Service and build relationships across the biotech industry so we can accelerate our strategic objectives.

We are proud of everything we have achieved together. Incredibly, throughout 2025, we have raised over £70,000, which is enough to fund one of our vital Clinical Trials Support nurses for over a year. Our Clinical Trials Support Service is a nurse-led service which helps more people with blood cancer access potentially life-saving clinical trials, by supporting them before, during and after enrolment onto a trial.

These funds have been raised by the generous BIA team and member companies.

Our fundraising campaign launched at the spectacular Gala Dinner in January 2025, where our Chair of Trustees, Matthew Wilson, shared his powerful personal story, which kicked off some incredible competitive donating between tables.

The BIA staff team and member companies also stepped up to some team physical challenge events, including Team BioHazards completing the London to Brighton bike ride and member companies taking part in the Step Up challenge in May.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s contributed across the year. Whatever you’ve given, you’ve made a difference. 

At the Gala Dinner and at many of the BIA’s wonderful events throughout the year, we have been met with countless opportunities to connect with leaders across life sciences, healthcare and government — from BIA’s Parliament Day to Women in Biotech and the parliamentary party conferences. These events have provided opportunity to make new connections with leaders in the life sciences industry, which will be critical in influencing change to achieve improved outcomes for people affected by blood cancer.

 

I had the pleasure of speaking on a number of panels, including the Future of UK Life Sciences Regulation Conference, Women in Biotech and the life sciences roundtable at the Liberal Democrats conference. These events provided a platform to share the voice of the blood cancer community and the work Blood Cancer UK is doing to improve access to clinical trials, particularly for underrepresented groups.

The new connections we have made through our partnership with the BIA have been invaluable and we will continue to draw on these as we strive towards our ambition of bringing forward the day no one dies of blood cancer or a side effect of its treatment.

The BIA has also consistently spread our message and amplified our content during 2025 so that we reach more people. Throughout the year, BIA has shared updates on our work, including our new impact report and research strategy, in addition to sharing our new campaign for Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Thanks to you, our work has been shared with a further 25,000 people in your network. Only by reaching more people will we be able to beat blood cancer.

Working alongside the BIA this year has shown the incredible power of partnership between research, industry, and patient communities. Together, we’ve not only raised vital funds but also built lasting connections that will help us accelerate access to life-saving treatments. I’m grateful to everyone at the BIA for your generosity, energy, and belief in our mission to bring forward the day when no one dies of blood cancer. We look forward to keeping in touch and the seeing the legacy of this partnership unfold.

Thank you.

Dr Rubina Ahmed, Director of Research Policy and Services, Blood Cancer UK.