Challenge Studies and the UK
The UK has historically taken a leading role in the use of human challenge studies. Historically, the first challenge study to take place - the scientist who designed the world’s first vaccine performed the inoculation of a child called James Phipps with both cowpox and smallpox, and established that previous cowpox infection protected against future smallpox infections.
After WWII, the UK ran the “Common Cold Unit” in Salisbury from 1946 to 1989, in the hopes of advancing the world’s understanding of virology by creating a cure for the common cold, using vast amounts of challenge studies, with volunteers recruited using the idea of a free holiday at the clinic after their inoculation.
The CCU created a vast amount of the world’s knowledge of respiratory viruses - for example, we now know that the common cold is very difficult to cure as it can be caused by hundreds of different viruses. The CCU was also responsible for the isolation and discovery of the first known coronavirus.
After the CCU shut down, a prominent researcher there, Professor John Oxford, set up Retroscreen Virology, a company designed to lead virology study, in the 1990s. In 2015, this became hVIVO, and in 2019, hVIVO was bought by Open Orphan. Today, hVIVO is the world’s leading challenge study CRO (contract research organisation), and runs all kinds of challenge studies, including the world’s first coronavirus HCT.
The UK also has a rich history of running challenge studies on other pathogens, such as RSV, malaria, and typhoid. While some challenge studies are run in other countries, the UK’s regulatory environment means that they are far more frequent than in other countries that uses challenge studies, such as the US.