The UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced it will allocate £161 million (about $214.5 million) to early-phase trials.

According to NIHR, the research arm of the UK National Health Service, the 43 percent increase in funding will benefit its 28 clinical research facilities (CRF) conducting phase 1 and early phase 2 safety and efficacy trials.

NIHR’s CRFs conducted almost 5,000 studies in the past year, nearly one-fifth of which were phase 1 trials.