This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we speak to Kate Shaw, our CEO, about her passion for science, the journey that led to her to establish one of the world’s leading patient recruitment and retention companies, the challenges she has faced and the advice she has for young women considering entering the sciences. In 2024, Kate won the Woman in Pharma award at the Pharma Industry Awards UK for her commitment to advancing science and inspiring more women into STEM.
My career in STEM: Kate Shaw, Innovative Trials CEO
Kate, can you give us an overview of your work?
Innovative Trials is a specialist patient recruitment and retention company for clinical trials. We are dedicated to the advancement of global healthcare and the acceleration of patient access to life-changing medicines through clinical research. We work globally, in more than 70 countries, and facilitate proactive, bespoke and local recruitment and retention strategies for studies.
We are very much a relationship-based organization. We pride ourselves on understanding the needs of patients, sites and sponsors for each clinical trial and strive to ensure all parties receive the support they need to make the trial a success. As the company’s CEO, I spend a lot of my time supporting the commercial side of the business, including client liaison, and ensuring that all functions of the company are functioning smoothly and operating to the same vision and mission. I also represent Innovative Trials at numerous conferences and events throughout the year, not only to network and discuss our work but also to learn and explore how we can continue to adapt to gather insights and support more patients in the most meaningful way.
When did you realize you were interested in science?
Science, particularly biology, has interested me ever since I started learning about it at school. The human body, how it works and how it responds to diseases, is fascinating. I went on to study biology at university and to this day am still intrigued by the impact that diseases can have on people. It helps to drive what I do and how I lead Innovative Trials.
Could you describe your personal journey bringing us to where you are now?
After graduating from university, I wanted a career where I could directly help people. My first job was with the European Commission in Indonesia where I ran development aid projects for two years. Some of this work included health promotion, such as understanding the links between incidences of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV. I continued in Indonesia for another year with the British Council managing cross-cultural projects and fostering international collaborations before returning to the UK to study for an MSc in Health Promotion at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
I moved into the field of clinical research after finishing my Masters degree. My flatmate at the time worked for a Japanese pharmaceutical company and suggested I apply for a clinical research role. I got the job and from day one I was hooked. I have spent every day since then learning everything I can about clinical research, project management and patient engagement.
Over the years, my clinical research responsibilities grew – from ensuring the right laboratory equipment was in place and compliance with regulatory standards to managing teams and more complex clinical projects. Some parts of the job became routine, but the one aspect that never did was patient recruitment. Each patient is an individual, with different needs and circumstances and varying levels of understanding about what a trial involves, which means no two enrollment strategies should be identical. This fed into my desire to help people and I knew this was where I wanted to focus my efforts. Eventually, I was appointed Head of Patient Recruitment for a world-leading pharmaceutical company. During my tenure, I led successful initiatives to optimize patient enrollment strategies and, as a consequence, significantly improved trial efficiency and success rates.
In 2010, I saw an opportunity to share my expertise in patient recruitment with others and established Innovative Trials. Setting up a business from scratch was a real learning curve, but thankfully the demand for our services quickly grew – and continues to grow to this day – and the company has expanded accordingly. Innovative Trials began as a one-person operation and now employs more than 70 people across the world. It’s been an incredible journey and one that is far from over.
What challenges did you face – as a woman or otherwise – along the way and what is the most valuable lesson you have learned?
I recognize there are typically fewer women working in science than men, but this has never bothered me. As a business leader, my biggest challenge when founding Innovative Trials was getting the internal structure right, including the financial reporting requirements. When you are setting up a company for the first time, there is so much that you don’t know and it can be difficult to know where to go to access the correct information. Finding trusted people you can talk to with whom you can ask questions and share information is invaluable.
What ignites your passion in your current role?
My driving force is that I love what we do at Innovative Trials. We have a fantastic team and I am very proud of what we achieve. We have played a part in bringing more than 15 new treatments to market and seeing how life-changing they can be is phenomenal. Watching someone with MS, for example, start a study in a wheelchair and by the end of the trial can walk is hugely moving. That’s what drives me and will always drive me – helping patients to live the life they want to live.
What is your current work ethos/style?
As a leader, I like to lead from the back; coaching and encouraging my team to find solutions and produce their best work. I am always happy to talk to anyone in the company and share my experience with them to help them. I will obviously ‘step up’ when necessary, but I think it’s important for everyone’s professional development and confidence that they have the opportunity to think things through for themselves, experiment with different approaches and learn as they go.
Could you share some advice for young women starting to develop an interest in science or wanting to pursue a career like yours?
I would certainly like to see more women entering the sciences. There is so much you can do within the field with endless opportunities to make a difference in all sorts of ways. Education is still quite lacking in some areas like clinical research – I had never even heard of patient recruitment as a possible career option before I became a Clinical Research Associate – and I would love to see this added to the National Curriculum to increase people’s understanding of trials. In the meantime, I would encourage girls and young women to be curious and ask questions. Be proactive and knock on people’s doors. If you have a biopharmaceutical company in your locality, speak to them about what they do and learn from them. If you’re interested in science, keep being inquisitive and keep learning.
For anyone considering self-employment, I would say that you need to go into it with your eyes open. It will be hard work and likely won’t be glamorous, but the rewards can absolutely be worth it. For me, leading a high-performing and innovative team and being part of something that is making a tangible difference in patients’ lives is fundamentally what makes me proud and keeps me going.
At Innovative Trials, we recognise the value of women in the workplace. In 2024, we were proud to be named the second fastest-growing, woman-powered UK company in the clinical research sector. Our staff are trusted experts with experience in more than 400 trials, 25 therapeutic areas, 70 countries and over 90 conditions, making us an ideal global patient recruitment and retention partner. Speak to us about how we can help boost your studies today.