Press release: International Clinical Trials Day Conference on Data Sharing and Reuse

PARIS – The European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN) is pleased to announce that its 2017 celebration of International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD) will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on 19 May 2017. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Data sharing and reuse: attitudes and practices in multinational clinical research’. The aim is to engage with the public, scientific community and decision makers on issues related to (multinational) clinical trials in Europe, and to address issues related to data sharing and re-use in particular.

ICTD 2017 is organised by ECRIN in collaboration with its Portuguese national scientific partner, the Portuguese Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (PtCRIN), and the Portuguese National Authority of Medicines and Health Products, I.P. (Infarmed).

The event will bring together investigators, patient representatives, national authorities, health technology assessment specialists and other stakeholders involved in multinational clinical studies from across Europe and Portugal.

Presentation topics will include: access to treatment for hepatitis C virus infection in Portugal; individual patient-level clinical trial data sharing; added value and cost of data sharing; incentives for data sharing; clinical trial data repositories; and reuse of clinical data.

‘ICTD 2017 is a unique opportunity to bring together stakeholders from Europe and beyond to discuss the most pressing issues facing multinational academic clinical trials’, says Jacques Demotes, director general of ECRIN. ‘In the context of the open science policy, clinical trial data sharing and reuse is a major issue, and we hope to drive discussion and promote greater collaboration across borders’.

Following the ICTD meeting, PtCRIN will be holding a National Celebration of Clinical Trials Day, organised in collaboration with Academia CUF and with support from Infarmed and ECRIN. In line with government efforts to stimulate clinical research in Portugal, the general focus of this conference will be on 'Support to Clinical Trials: Funding, Infrastructures and Investigator Perspectives'. The support given to investigators implementing multinational clinical trials and the added value of European infrastructures such as ECRIN in this process will be discussed. Additionally, Portuguese investigators will share their perspectives about the relevance of clinical trials. 

About ICTD

ICTD was launched in 2005 to celebrate the day when Scottish naval surgeon James Lind started his famous clinical trial on scurvy in 1747, and laid the foundation for modern clinical research. 

While serving as a surgeon on the HMS Salisbury (a ship of the British Royal Navy), Lind carried out experiments on 12 sailors suffering from scurvy. The men, grouped into pairs, were given a variety of dietary supplements (e.g., cider, vinegar, seawater, garlic, mustard, oranges and lemons) over six days. Those who consumed citrus fruits noticeably improved, providing evidence of the superiority of this treatment over others (two centuries before the discovery of vitamin C, the active substance). 

Clinical trials have come a long way since Lind's discovery. Each year, ICTD, celebrated on or around 20 May, provides the opportunity for organisations, clinical research professionals, and the public to acknowledge the achievements that result from clinical research and to discuss various trial topics. Learn more about James Lind’s trial

Tweet about ICTD 2017 using the following hashtag: #ICTD2017

About the organisers

ECRIN

ECRIN is a nonprofit distributed infrastructure with the legal status of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). ECRIN provides support for the development and implementation of multinational clinical research projects in Europe.
ECRIN primarily provides support to sponsors in investigator-initiated trials for trial preparation, the validation of study protocols, and trial management. ECRIN’s focus is on independent, multinational academic research as well as trials initiated by biotech and medical device small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
ECRIN’s ‘distributed infrastructure’ includes a Core Team based in Paris, France (headquarters), European Correspondents (EuCos) working in each Member and Observer Country, and national scientific partners, which are networks of academic clinical trial units.

Learn more: www.ecrin.org

Infarmed

Infarmed is a Portuguese government agency accountable to the Health Ministry that evaluates, authorises, regulates and controls human medicines as well as health products, namely, medical devices, homeopathic products and cosmetics for the protection of public health.

Learn more: www.infarmed.pt/web/infarmed-en/

PtCRIN

PtCRIN is the Portuguese national partner of ECRIN. It is an infrastructure dedicated to the promotion of national and international cooperation in clinical research; and increasing research quality and therapeutic innovation for the benefit of patients, citizens and health care systems.

PtCRIN aims to develop and organise a Portuguese network of clinical trial units and to enhance the capacity of clinical research centres/academic medical centres, based on international standards for the development of investigator-initiated clinical trials.

Learn more: www.ptcrin.pt

Academia CUF

Academia CUF, from the José de Mello Saúde Group, is responsible for the training and scientific activities of all CUF health units, Hospital de Braga, Hospital de Vila Franca de Xira. Created to develop the skills of health professionals in the group through qualified training in health, Academia CUF promotes scientific knowledge, good practices in health, and the highest quality standards. Besides training, Academia CUF promotes scientific events and training targeting health professionals external to the group.