Good Clinical Practice (GCP) provides globally applicable standards for the conduct of medical research on pharmaceutical products on human subjects, reminds Raffaella Ravinetto, Head of the Clinical Trials Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium. The implementation of GCP in non-commercial research carried out in resource-constrained settings was one of the prime issues for the satellite meeting Universal standards for clinical practice that took place on Monday 12 October. Read More
European Union Commissioner for Science and Research Dr Janez Potočnik addressed the audience at the opening ceremony through a video message. The EU Commissioner comments on the progress of research coordination through EDCTP over the years, and referring to the independent evaluation of the EDCTP programme conducted in 2006, he remarks: “Because I have always believed in the noble purpose of this initiative, I decided to continue … Now, almost three years later, it is paying off.”
The Fifth EDCTP Forum in Arusha kicked off on Monday with strong calls for strengthening clinical trials partnerships with Africa. It emphasised the need for increased funding for research and innovation in health, setting up acceptable clinical trial standards, strengthening ethical committees and the establishment of infrastructures for provision of quality drugs and other medical tools to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Led by His Excellency the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ali Mohamed Shein, scientists, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders underscored the need for strengthening of joint ventures to combat the three diseases, which they said, are poverty-related and consequently improve the lives of people.
Underreporting of clinical trials conducted in Africa is a serious problem, leading to wasteful duplication of research. According to Amber Abrams, the Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR) project manager for the South African Cochrane Centre at the Medical Research Council, the lack of coordinated regulation and ethical oversight of clinical trials in Africa largely accounts for this scenario. Read More
Africa has been dodged with the lack of both human and infrastructural capacity for conducting clinical trials on diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Whereas some African countries have been collaborating with European counterparts, EDCTP’s Networking and Capacity Development manager, Dr Thomas Nyirenda says as long as the continent’s systems remain weak as they are today, Africa will always lag behind in clinical trials. “We are facing an imbalance, which calls for capacity building involving existing institutions in West, East, Central and Southern Africa.”
