International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD) 2025 Rethinking Clinical Trials: Inclusivity in Practice

We are delighted to announce our International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD) 2025, 'Rethinking Clinical Trials: Inclusivity in Practice', co-hosted by ECRIN and SCReN in Madrid. It will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.  

Launched in 2005 by ECRIN, in line with its mission to support multinational clinical research in Europe, ICTD brings together patients, health policy actors, health authorities, clinical researchers, health professionals and citizens from Europe, and beyond to discuss issues related to multinational clinical studies. ICTD commemorates the start of the landmark clinical trial, led by James Lind on sailors with scurvy, 20 May 1747. Having laid the foundation for modern clinical research, ECRIN salutes this initiative by addressing a new topic in clinical research every year on or around this date.  

The need for greater inclusivity in clinical trials is clear in Europe and there is an increasing obligation to progress from discussion to concrete implementation. By uniting different stakeholders from the community, ICTD will shed light not only on why diversity, equity and inclusion should be embraced in clinical research but will give concrete examples of what has been done so far and where there are still hurdles to overcome.

Why inclusivity? 
The need for greater inclusivity in clinical studies is clear in Europe and there is an increasing obligation to progress. By uniting different stakeholders from the clinical research community, ICTD will shed light not only on why diversity, equity and inclusion should be embraced in clinical research but will give concrete examples of what has been done so far, where there are still hurdles to overcome, and what is underway to work to resolve these difficulties.

Agenda
To launch the discussion on the day’s theme we will develop a common understanding of key words such as inclusivity and underserved and why they should be on everyone’s mind. Throughout the day different stakeholders will present their perspectives on inclusivity in clinical studies starting with the patients themselves and the ethicists and later from regulators and industry. Three use cases will be featured to reflect the real-world application in the academic and industry trials. To round off the day panels will be held in the morning (on engaging with underserved populations) and afternoon (on building a clinical trial environment to support inclusivity) to encourage greater discussion between stakeholders and attendees. A couple of EU-funded projects will be featured throughout the day, notably SENSITISE and READI.

Visit the event page to register now! 

(Please note there is no charge for registering for ICTD, but it is necessary to register for both online and on site attendance, within the limit of the seats available.)