Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The HUNTER Trial Research Consortium (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information in a secure, transparent, and responsible manner. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, the legal bases we rely on, how we protect it, and the rights you have under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR when you interact with our website or contact us professionally.

By using this website or submitting information through our forms, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal data, as appropriate, to:

• Respond to partnership, media, or general inquiries and maintain correspondence records.
• Evaluate potential investigators, clinical sites, collaborators, or funders, including NDA and document‑access workflows.
• Provide updates about the HUNTER Trial, including research announcements and partnership opportunities, where you have requested or consented to such communications.
• Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the website and detect or prevent misuse or security incidents.

We do not sell or rent your personal information and do not use it for third‑party advertising.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (EU/UK)

Under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases, depending on the context:

• Legitimate interests: managing research partnerships, collaborations, and professional relationships, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent: sending email updates or newsletters where you have opted in, and processing information submitted voluntarily via forms.
• Contractual necessity: handling data required to negotiate or perform agreements such as NDAs, collaboration contracts, or funding arrangements.
• Legal obligations: retaining records where necessary for audit, regulatory, or compliance purposes.

5. Data Sharing

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties where necessary for the purposes above, including:

• Clinical or academic partners involved in evaluating potential collaborations (where appropriate and, where required, with your consent).
• Professional advisers and regulatory or ethics consultants.
• Hosting and infrastructure providers (e.g., web hosting, form backends, email delivery services) operating under data‑processing agreements.
• Security, compliance, or legal service providers, and competent authorities where required by law or to protect our rights.

We do not share your information with advertisers or sell data to marketing data brokers.

6. Data Storage and Security

Personal data collected via this website are stored in the UK, EU, or other jurisdictions offering adequate protection, or under appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses. We apply technical and organisational measures including SSL/TLS encryption, access controls, role‑based permissions, server‑side firewalls, and regular security reviews to protect your data against unauthorised access, alteration, or loss.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy or to comply with legal and regulatory requirements:

• General inquiries: typically up to 24 months.
• Partnership and collaboration records: typically up to 5 years.
• NDA‑related records and key contractual correspondence: typically up to 10 years or longer where legally required.
• Email subscription data: until you unsubscribe or we determine the address is inactive.

8. Your Rights (EU/UK Data Subjects)

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Request deletion of your data where there is no overriding legal reason for us to keep it.
• Restrict or object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing.
• Request that we provide your data in a portable format, where technically feasible.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent (this does not affect processing carried out before withdrawal).

To exercise these rights, please contact: privacy@hunteriatrial.org. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or your local supervisory authority.

9. Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses necessary cookies for site functionality and may use analytics cookies to understand aggregate usage and improve content. Where required by ePrivacy and cookie laws, we will request your consent for non‑essential cookies via a cookie banner, and you can withdraw consent or disable cookies at any time through your browser settings.

10. External Links

This website may contain links to external websites, journals, partners, or service providers. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of third‑party websites, and you are encouraged to review their privacy policies separately.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, technical, or operational changes. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page indicates when it was most recently revised; material changes will be highlighted where appropriate.

12. Contact Details