The International Clinical Trials Day 2019 took place on Tuesday the 14th of May, 2019 at the Senate of the Czech Republic, where the SLOVACRIN infrastructure established under the Medical Faculty of UPJŠ in Košice was also presented.
“As part of this prestigious event, representatives of the Czech Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education agreed on the significant benefits of clinical trials for the availability of innovative treatments for patients. At the same time, they highlighted the contribution of large international infrastructures such as the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN), which brings together scientific partners and clinical research networks in Europe” says Medical Director MUDr. Beata Čečetková, PhD, according to whom the participants of the event emphasized the need to strengthen further competitiveness and systematic funding of such activities.
On April 25 – 26, 2019, the “Course for Coordinators and Heads of Clinical Trials Departments in Medical Facilities” took place in Bratislava, attended by almost 80 participants, mainly from hospitals under the authority of the Ministry of Health, as well as other health care providers, representatives of research institutions and universities. The two day event was moderated by the Medical Director of Infrastructure SLOVACRIN, covered by the Faculty of Medicine of UPJŠ in Košice MUDr. Beata Čečetková, PhD. and the representatives of SLOVACRIN also gave presentations about pharmacovigilance and clinical studies.
The National Center for Academical Clinical Trials SLOVACRIN, whose activities are coordinated by the Faculty of Medicine of UPJŠ in Košice and whose General Director is the Dean of UPJŠ LF prof. MUDr. Daniel Pella, PhD., provides a full service for clinical trials organized by medical researchers and is a Slovak national node for engaging in international multi-center clinical trials and projects implemented by the European ECRIN network based in Paris.
What is SLOVACRIN
This national scientific infrastructure has created the possibility for our institutions to become more involved in international biomedical scientific projects. SLOVACRIN offers the possibility of implementing academical clinical trials for the whole of Slovakia from hospitals through research institutions to universities and faculties. The coordinator of its activities is the Faculty of Medicine of UPJŠ in Košice and the General Director is the Dean of UPJŠ LF prof. MUDr. Daniel Pella, PhD.
During the first year of its activity, SLOVACRIN supported several academical studies, especially in the field of oncology. As part of development projects, the Slovak Republic, through this infrastructure, has been involved in both ‘the EOSC Life project’; which maps the possibility of sharing data in clinical trials and in ‘the Pharmacovigilance Standardization project for drug safety surveillance in clinical trials’. SLOVACRIN is also involved in organizing the training of clinical trial coordinators in healthcare facilities and training doctors – researchers and healthcare professionals in the field of good clinical practice and pharmacovigilance. SLOVACRIN is currently preparing a Roadmap for Research Infrastructures for Academical Clinical Trials.
