NI Clinical Trial Capability Showcased

 Posted by  General news
Dec 172010
 
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Invest Northern Ireland organised a clinical trial event at the Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre (C-TRIC) in Altnagelvin Hospital, Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) on 23 November 2010.  The event provided an overview of the resources and services available to support clinical trials and to initiate discussion on how trusts and companies may work better together.

After an introduction by Ian Murphy (Managing Director, Client Group and Entrepreneurship at Invest NI), Barry Henderson (Business Development Manager, C-TRIC) gave an overview of C-TRIC and highlighted that C-TRIC is licensed to handle, process and store clinical materials and data.

There were four companies participating: Bio-Kinetic Europe Ltd, Medevol Ltd, Celerion Ltd, and O4 Research Ltd.  Each company provided an overview of the clinical trial areas and phases they facilitate and how they currently engage with local trusts and the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network (NICRN).

Dr Maurice O’Kane (Associate Medical Director – Research & Development, WHSCT and Chief Executive, C-TRIC) spoke on the WHSCT involvement with clinical trials and the practicalities of how the process works, in addition to highlighting research and clinical trial activity within WHSCT and C-TRIC.  Particular clinical trial resources highlighted included:

  • in house clinical trial capability;
  • support provided by clinical governance staff to assist with the governance and ethical approvals process;
  • access to skilled research nursing staff; and
  • access to skilled biomedical scientists.

This was followed by Paul Biagioni (NICRN) who gave an outline on the role of and support available from NICRN, its links with the UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN) and how they can assist companies.

Dr David Brownlee (HSC Innovations) covered the suite of model agreements that are available from UKCRN to facilitate and speed up the process of enabling clinical trials, and Professor Danny McAuley (Belfast Health and Social Care Trust) provided an overview of the planned Clinical Research Facility in Belfast and highlighted areas for potential collaboration in clinical trials.

The event finished with a site tour of C-TRIC facilities.

Further information is available as follows: