We are competent partners for implementing investigator-initiated trials (IITs) in multicentre and multinational settings.
Switzerland currently participates in about 20 – out of a European portfolio of 60 – clinical trials that are supported by ECRIN, the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network. Through its CTU Network, the SCTO supports these trials as a scientific and service partner. All fee-based services are coordinated by the ECRIN European Correspondent (EuCo) for Switzerland, who is based at the SCTO.
ECRIN helps sponsors and investigators conducting multicentre, multinational trials to overcome the challenges of diverse and country-specific regulatory and administrative frameworks. ECRIN is a distributed research infrastructure – a network of networks that connects research facilities at multiple sites in countries across Europe – and it provides services for top-level clinical research. The SCTO has been given a mandate by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) to represent Switzerland in the ECRIN consortium.
In response to the initially uncoordinated research activities related to COVID-19, the SCTO and its CTU Network contributed to the special COVID-19 task force established by ECRIN. This included contributions to the regulatory environment, literature, and study scanning, among others.
EOSC-Life aims to provide an open, collaborative space for digital biology in Europe by developing a comprehensive model for providing data and access tools via the cloud. This will empower life scientists and put largescale computation within the reach of all laboratories, with the aim of making Europe an international leader in data-driven research. The SCTO is a linked third party of ECRIN, which is a beneficiary in the project, and coordinates the contribution of CTU Network experts to distinct work packages.
The EU-RESPONSE consortium, led by France’s Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), brings together 21 partners with world-class research capabilities from 13 EU countries, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey to build a European network for adaptive platform trials (APTs) for COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases. APTs have an innovative randomised controlled trial design, which enables various therapies for a disease to be studied simultaneously. The project started in 2021 and will last for five years.
The SCTO is the EU-RESPONSE’s project partner for Switzerland through its observer status in ECRIN, which will play a role in realising the project’s key objectives.